


Geoffs brother

by AmyWoolner



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: M/M, sensitive topics in the last few chapters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-04 04:10:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14011896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmyWoolner/pseuds/AmyWoolner
Summary: Michael can't take his mind off of the British lad that Geoff's parents adopted.Some sensitive stuff near the end but there's a warning at the start of the chapter <3





	1. Chapter 1

"Geoff! Come down here and meet your new brother and sister!" My mum shouts up the stairs and I roll my eyes at how nervous she sounds.  
"All right guys, I have to go, I'll be back later." I say into my headset before turning off my Xbox and walking downstairs. I walk into the kitchen and see my mum and dad sitting at the table and a boy my age sitting opposite them, a toddler on his lap. They both have blonde hair and very green eyes, his hair is kinda long and looks purposely messy, and her hair is wavy and in a ponytail.  
"Hiya, Hows it going?" I ask. I knew my parents were going to adopt another kid, considering they asked me if I was okay with it. They were only going to adopt Gavin but when they found out he had a little sister they didn't want to separate them. All I know about my new brother is that he's a few months younger than me, 17, He's from England, and his parents died in a car crash that killed not only his mum and dad, but also his little brother. My new sister, Grace, is only 3, and very adorable. I can tell by the way Gavin is holding her that he's very protective of her.  
"Can you show Gavin and Grace their rooms?" My mum asks and I nod, "sure." I say smiling and standing up. Gavin stands up nervously and holds his sister on his hip.  
"Erm, would it- would it be all right, if- Grace stayed in mine with me for a while?" Gavin stutters out nervously and my- our mum smiles.  
"Of course sweetie," mum says gently and my dad adds "I'll move her crib in there now if you want?"  
Gavin nods, mumbles "thank you" and hesitates before following me upstairs.

We live in a big house, with 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a huge kitchen, a dining room, a front room, a study, a games room, a massive back garden and a garage. Each bedroom is a decent size as well, so fitting all of Gavin's stuff and Grace's bed in one room isn't a problem. I walk up the stairs and stop when we get to the top, I point to the door at the very end of the right hallway, "That's mum and dad's room," I say, then point to the next door along the hall, "Guest room," then the next, "bathroom," then the first door on the left side of the hall, "This is Graces room, the next one is yours, then mine at the end." I say before opening the door to Graces room.  
The walls are a pastel yellow colour with flowers and butterfly's hand painted on by my girlfriend, Griffon. There are toys and stuff and a shelf full of books and a wardrobe, then finally her crib.  
"You like it Gray?" Gavin asks his sister, smiling at her. It's the first time I've heard him speak properly without mumbling and wow he sounds so British. Emily nods and Gavin goes to put her down but she clings on. I smile at her before turning back to Gavin.  
"You wanna see your room now?" I ask and Gavin nods, "thank you." He says quietly and I smile, "You're welcome." I walk him to the next room and open the door, revealing a big room with 3 darkish green walls and 1 black wall. There's a king size bed, a big bean bag, a desk and desk chair with an apple mac on top of it, a 40" TV with an Xbox one and PS4 on the table underneath it, a wardrobe and pretty much every video game for those consoles that you can think of.  
"Wow!" Gavin whispers and I look over at him.  
"You all right?" I ask and he nods.  
"I've literally always wanted an Xbox one!" He says and I grin.  
"You play video games?" I ask and he looks at me like I've asked the dumbest question ever, "of course," He says. I help him bring up and unpack all of his stuff. Turns out he has an Xbox 360 and a PS3, along with at least 100 games. We unpack all of Olivia's and his things and when we're done, he unpacks his duffel bag. In it is a camera, a laptop, a phone, a few chargers, a chocolate brown teddy with the date 1999 on one foot, an identical one with 2007 written on the foot and another teddy with 2013 on one foot, similar to the first two, but light brown. He puts the first two on his bedside table, then hands the other one to Grace, who holds the teddy's hand so it hangs by her side. He then sits on the edge of his bed and reaches into his backpack.  
"Gracie, come here." He says softly and she runs over to him and stands in front of him. He puts a locket around her neck and smiles sadly.  
"You all right, Gav?" I ask gently, sitting next to him. I notice he's wearing a locket identical to it, but his chain also has two rings on it, as well as a dog tag. He shakes his head and lifts Grace onto his lap and pulls her into a hug as a tear falls from his eye. I put my arm around his shoulders, trying to show him I'm here for him.  
"What's up?" I ask and he sighs, "Can I trust you?" He asks and I smile at him, "Course Gav, I'm your brother." I say and he nods, wiping his eyes.  
"My mum- she gave Gray the locket when she was born, she's never worn it before because she was too young, and my mum had an identical one." He grabs the 4 things hanging from his necklace and opens the locket. Inside is a picture of a man and a woman smiling, then a picture of a man and a woman with a boy around 12 and a boy around 6 holding a baby girl. He then shows me the rings, "My dads," he says holding out a nice black metal ring, "And my mums," he says holding out a beautiful diamond ring with a gold band. "This is for my brother," he says showing me the dog tag. I read one side.

Johnny Free

02.06.2007 - 15.05.2016

The other side is what looks like a child's writing that says 'You are my hero.' And a drawing of two stick men holding hands, one a lot bigger than the other. I look at Gavin and he smiles sadly.  
"My brother wrote and drew that for me when he was 4 and had to write a letter to his hero." He says and he starts crying onto my shoulder, "He wrote it to me. But I'm not a hero, I couldn't save him. I was in the car too, we all were. When the car crashed, I threw myself over Grace to cover her, but Johnny was in the middle of the car and we were in the back. The car slammed into the driver's side. Straight into my dad. Straight into Johnny. They died on impact. My mum was in a coma for a week before she died. I fractured my wrist, and Grace was fine." He sobs and I sit him up so he's facing me.  
"Gav, you are a hero. You saved your baby sister. You can't save everyone." I say and he nods.  
"You wanna play video games?" I ask and he nods again, so we go into my room and play GTAV for a while whilst Grace plays in her room. After playing for a few minutes I get an Xbox message from Michael. I open it and see a picture of him and Ray laughing and sticking up their middle fingers at me with the message, "We beat you at cops v crooks!" I laugh and turn to Gavin.  
"Those are two of my friends, Michael and Ray." I say pointing out each one, "You can meet them at school." I add and he nods. Just then my dad walks in, "Hey guys, just wanted you to know, Gavin, the crib is in your room. Do you want me to put Grace to bed?" He asks and Gavin shakes his head, "no thank you it's fine." He says politely.

GAVIN'S POV

I get off of Geoff's bed and say goodnight to him before picking up the half asleep Grace and carrying her to my room. I change her into her pyjamas and put her in her crib gently and remove her necklace, laying it on my bedside table, and handing her her teddy. She lies down and I tuck the blanket around her.  
"Goodnight angel, I'll see you in the morning," I say turning on her night light that reflects stars onto the ceiling.  
"Night, Gavvy." She whispers. I get changed into pyjama bottoms,take off my t-shirt, put my phone on charge, turn off the light, and climb under my duvet, falling asleep almost instantly.


	2. Chapter 2

Gavin's POV

I wake up in the morning to Geoff knocking lightly on my door.  
"Gav, get up. School." He says and I sigh. I decided it would be best to start school straight away because I'm probably very behind and I can get to know teachers and students, even if it is only a week until summer break, but now I've had to wake up early I regret it. I check the time and see its 6:30. I get up and shower before cleaning my teeth, getting dressed and sorting out my backpack. I'm ready by 7:15 but the school bus doesn't come until 8, so I get Grace ready for the day. I brush her hair and put it in pigtails, clean her teeth, then get her dressed in a light blue dress with white tights, a white cardigan and some black shoes. I walk with her to the kitchen, as she won't let go of my hand, and she hides behind my leg when she sees our new mum, Laura. Our dad, Mark, is at work already.  
"Hi Laura." I say quietly and she smiles at us.  
"Hey guys." She says before adding, "You wanna help me bake cupcakes?" She asks Grace. Grace looks up at me and I smile, nodding.  
"Go ahead kiddo." I say and she runs over to Laura, who picks her up and puts her on the counter top. I walk over to Grace and place my hand on her shoulder.  
"I have to go to school, I'll see you later." I say and give her a hug and kiss her forehead. She kisses my cheek and says bye and I leave the house with Geoff. We walk the 5 minute walk to the bus stop, talking and getting to know each other more. We are brothers after all. When we approach the bus stop a group of 7 boys turn around and yell "Geoff!" I recognise two of them as Michael and Ray, but have no idea who the other five are.  
"Hey guys! This is Gavin, Gav, this is Caleb, Kerry, Miles, Ryan, Jack, and you know Michael and Ray from that delightful picture they sent yesterday." He says and I stand behind him slightly, so no one would really notice but so Geoff knows I'm nervous. I told him about my anxiety so he knows all of my little signs of being uncomfortable or anxious.  
"Hey." I say quietly and they say hi back. They start a conversation and I notice one of them, Michael, looking at my necklace. He notices I'm looking and looks into my eyes, smiling softly, and I get a strange feeling in my stomach so I look away.

The bus comes and the guys all sit at the back. I sit down next to Geoff and play with my phone. I scroll through my camera roll and look at all the many photos of my family. I have over 5000 pictures and videos so I always find some I've forgotten was taken. I see a bunch of really recent pictures of me and my best friend Dan, but the most recent pictures are of me and my family at the park. These were taken about half an hour before the crash, just before we started to drive home. It amazes me how we can go from being this incredibly normal happy family to only me and my baby sister having to be adopted, all in the space of half an hour. I set the picture as my lock screen and stare at the photo. After a few minutes Geoff leans close to me.  
"You alright Gav?" He asks and I sigh before shaking my head and looking out the window, might as well be honest. I see Geoff frown at me sadly but he doesn't ask me anymore questions which I appreciate as I would probably start crying. When we get to school Geoff takes me to the office and I get my timetable and locker number. He then shows me where my locker is and I see Jack standing near it talking to a group of girls.  
"Hey guys." He calls as he sees us approaching. We get to him and Geoff points out that my locker is 3 away from Jacks, before Geoff introduces me to the girls.  
"Gav, this is Caiti, Jacks girlfriend, Laurie, Ryan's girlfriend, Griffon, my amazing girlfriend, Lindsay, Meg and Barbara." They smile at me and say hi and I mumble "Hey."

The bell goes and Geoff tells me I'm in the same form as Michael, Kerry and Miles as he walks me to my form room. I walk through the door with Michael, who caught up with us in the hall. Our form tutor sees me as soon as I walk in and calls me over.  
"Ah, you must be Gavin, nice to meet you." He says as everyone sits down.  
"So, Gavin, why don't you introduce yourself and say a few facts about you." The teacher suggests and I try to stay calm as I talk.  
"Uh, my names Gavin Free. I'm from Oxfordshire in England, and I film stuff in slow motion and bung it on YouTube?" I finish, avoiding the eyes of my class by looking at Michael. I notice a lot of the girls are leaning forward slightly, either smiling at me or staring at me, a few are twirling hair round one of their fingers. I look to my teacher and he nods smiling.  
"So what brings you to the states, Gavin?" He asks and I panic before Michael, who could probably tell I'm panicking, speaks up.  
"Sir that's not really-" he starts and I cut him off, forcing a small smile.  
"It's fine. I moved to America because the Ramsey's adopted me and my little sister." I say before I go and sit next to Michael. The rest of form is spent with me talking to Miles, Kerry and Michael, and by the time the bell goes we're all breathless from laughing.

I walk out of form with Michael, who is in my next lesson, Maths, and when we get to the class I see Geoff, Meg and Barbara there too. I sit in between Geoff and Barbara and Barbara and I start talking about how different America is to England and Canada, which is where she's from. The teacher gives out a work sheet on areas of trapeziums and shit, which I had already learnt when I was in England, so I finished it in 5 minutes.  
"Wow Gav, that was quick." Barb says and I shrug.  
"I did this in England." I say and she nods.  
"Oh, right. Well then can you help me? I'm confused as fuck." She mumbles and I smile.  
"Sure." I turn towards her slightly and point at the question with my pen. "To find the area of a trapezium, you have to do half the sum of the parallel lines, times the distance between them." I say and she picks up her calculator.  
"So for question A, you do 8 plus 4 divided by 2, times 5?" She asks as she types it in.  
"Yeah." I say and she grins.  
"Wow I can do maths!" She says and I laugh. I turn to the others and Geoff winks at me. I give him a puzzled look and he laughs, rolling his eyes.  
"Oh, Gav, the guys are coming over later, that alright? You don't have to hang with us, but you can if you want." Geoff says and I bite my lip.  
"Maybe. I might just hang with Grace." I say and he smiles, "Alright Gavvo."

After maths I have English with Ray, Barbara, Geoff, Meg and Jack. The class is reading Animal farm, which I read last year, so I just look out the window.  
"Gavin Free! Would you like to explain to the class what has happened in the book so far? Since you obviously know it well enough to not pay attention!" The teacher snaps and half the class giggle while the other half watch me closely. Barbara and Ray look nervous for me, Jack isn't paying attention either, and Geoff looks slightly proud that I wasn't doing any work. I sigh, the teacher interrupted me planing slow mo videos. I look him dead in the eye and recite everything that has happened in the book in detail up until the last line he read, finishing with, "I would explain the rest of it too, but I don't wanna spoil the ending for the people that don't know it. Just to warn you, its kinda sad." Ray and Jacks jaws drop, as does half the classes', and Barbara whispers "holy shit" while Geoff smirks. The teacher looks stunned and stutters "well, good job, but you still have to pay attention. Being new doesn't excuse you from detentions." He turns back to the book and Geoff pats me on the shoulder, grinning.  
"Gav that totally earned you some major cred!" Meg says and I shrug, "We studied this in England." She rolls her eyes.  
"With your knowledge and your accent, these girls are going fucking insane." Jack says and I look around the room, a few girls are facing the teacher but a lot of the girls in the class either keep looking at me every once in a while or are just plain staring at me. I lean back in my chair, trying to hide from their gaze behind Geoff and he sighs, turning to the class.  
"Alright guys, I know he's British but he's not a circus freak, stop staring at him!" He says, glaring at a few of the girls that continue looking and I smile, mumbling a thank you to Geoff who just shrugs, "Got your back, bro."

When we meet the rest of the guys at lunch Ray explains what happened in English while I try to stop him because I don't want everyone's attention on me and it's embarrassing. When he finishes the story everyone looks surprised yet somewhat proud.  
"Wow, and I thought I was rude and sassy." Michael says and I smirk.  
"Brits have a natural talent when it comes to being rude and sassy. We actually have to take a class in it and if we don't pass we get kicked out of the country. It's in our genes." I say and he laughs.  
"All that's in my genes is a natural love for maple syrup." Barbara says and everyone laughs. The rest of the day is pretty much the same, me knowing stuff because I've already studied it, people being surprised, and I actually fit in alright with Geoff's group of friends. On the bus on the way home they discuss who's coming to ours and Ryan, Jack, Ray and Michael say they can come. When we get off the bus we walk back to our house and I open the front door, the guys streaming in behind me.  
"GAVVY!!!" Grace shouts as she runs out of the room on our left. I kneel down and she runs straight into my arms. I engulf her in a hug and stand up with her.  
"Hey little one! I missed you!" I say and she squeezes me harder.  
"I missed you too Gavvy!" She says. Today was the first day since our family died that we've been separated for more than a few minutes. Geoff rubs her head affectionately as he walks past.  
"Hey Grace." He says casually.  
"Hi Geoff!" She says, still hugging me, her nose pressed against my collar bone as she calms down from the initial excitement.

Geoff takes the guys into the kitchen to get a drink and I go straight upstairs with Grace. I sit on my bed, leaning against the headboard with my knees up, Grace sitting on my lower stomach leaning back against my thighs, facing me. She opens my locket and points at the picture of us all.  
"Is that me?" She asks and I nod, "It is you."  
She points at Johnny, "That's Jo." She states and I smile, "yeah, that's Johnny." I say sadly and she stares at the photo.  
"I miss mummy and daddy." She says and she looks down, a deep frown appearing on her face, telling me she's about to cry. I put my hands on her cheeks and bring her face up to look at me, kissing her forehead before I hold her tiny hands in mine.  
"Come on Gracie, don't cry love. It's okay to be sad and to miss them. But there's a man and a woman who want to be your new mummy and daddy, until you're with our mummy and daddy again. And they'll look after you until your big and grown up, and they'll play with you and tickle you and read you stories. Just like I do." I say and she smiles. "Promise?" She asks holding out her pinkey finger.  
"Promise." I say linking her tiny finger with mine.  
"Okay." She smiles and falls forward, wrapping her small arms around my neck in a hug. I hear the floor creak and look at the door to see Michael.  
"Oh, hey, how long you been stood there?" I ask nervously and he smiles at me.  
"Not long, Geoff thought you might be thirsty, so I brought you this." He says handing me a can of Dr Pepper. I smile, taking the can from him and frowning in confusion at the way my skin tingles when our fingers brush against each other.  
"Thank you, Micool." I mumble and he smiles.

Michael's POV

I walk up the stairs and stop in the door way of Gavin's room. His bed is against the same wall as the door so he can't see me, and I don't want to interrupt his time with his sister.  
"Yeah, that's Johnny." Gavin says and he looks so sad I just want to hug him and make him feel better. Grace says something about her mum and dad, making Gavin talk about Laura and Mark. The way they're sitting and talking and acting is so cute and I just want to take a picture because the moment is full of love, adoration and an incredible sibling relationship. I move slightly and the floor creaks, making Gavin's head shoots towards me.  
"Oh, hey, how long you been stood there?" He asks and I can tell he's nervous. I smile at him.  
"Not long, Geoff thought you might be thirsty, so I brought this up here." I say and hand him a can of Dr Pepper, feeling my stomach flutter when our fingers touch.  
"Thank you, Micool." He says and it's the first time he's said my name and wow, his accent is just, wow.  
"I, er, I also brought this up, for Grace." I say, handing him a fruit shoot. He opens it and hands it to Grace.  
"Thanks," he says to me.  
"Say thank you, Grace." He says to Grace and she looks at me.  
"Fank you." She says, the fruit shoot still in her mouth. She starts coughing and Gavin rubs her back.  
"Slow down buddy, you don't wanna choke." He says as she stops coughing, taking the bottle out of her mouth.  
"Anyway, I'm gonna get back to the guys, see you later, Gav." I say and he smiles slightly.  
"Bye, Micool." He says and I walk back downstairs, my heart still fluttering at the sound of him saying my name. I walk into the kitchen and Geoff looks at me.  
"Gavin alright?" He asks and I nod  
"Yeah, he seems fine, just sitting with Grace." I say and he nods.  
"Alright, let's play video games!" Geoff says and we all walk up to his bedroom. When I walk past Gavin's door I see him sitting with Grace in his lap, still in the same position but Grace is leaning on his chest and Gavin's reading a book to her.  
"You lot go ahead." Geoff says to us before walking into Gavin's room.

Geoff's POV

"You alright Gavvo?" I ask and he looks over at me. Grace is sitting in his lap and sucking her thumb, Gavin is resting a book against his knees.  
"Yeah, I'm alright Geoffy." He says and I pat his shoulder.  
"Alright Gav, we're in my room, yeah? Come in if you want to, buddy." I say and he gives me a smile.  
"Thank you Geoff." I smile and walk out of the room. I walk into my room and shut the door to see Jack has set up the game we're playing for today's let's play. I clear my throat making everyone look at me.  
"Guys, could y'all do me a favour? Just keep an eye on Gavin for me." I say and they nod.  
"Alright, let's play!" I say and Ray pouts.  
"HEY! That's my line!" He then turns to the microphone. "LEEEEEEEETS PLAAAAY!!!!!" He yells and we start the video.


	3. Chapter 3

Gavin's POV

I hear yelling, shouting and laughing from Geoff's room and I sigh. I take Grace into the garden, where there's a climbing frame, a swing set and a trampoline, I assume from when Geoff was younger. I sit Grace one of the swings and stand in front of her, pushing her gently while she giggles.  
"Higher!" She yells and I laugh.  
"Alright kiddo, but you need to hold on tight okay?" I say and she nods, gripping the chains tightly. I push her higher and she starts giggling again. After a few minutes I hear the back door open and hear Michael's voice.  
"Hey Gav." He says and I slow Grace down to a stop, before turning around to see Michael walking towards me.  
"What's up?" I ask, following grace over to the climbing frame.  
"Just wondering how you're doing?" He asks and I sigh, watching Grace climb the ladder and putting my hand behind her back so she doesn't fall.  
"Did Geoff make you come and check up on me?" I ask and he bites his lip guiltily.  
"Well yeah, but I wanted to see how you are." He says smiling and I smile slightly and roll my eyes.  
"I'm fine, Micool." I say and he smiles.  
"Alright, Gav, well I'll see you later." I catch Grace at the bottom of the slide, picking her up and spinning her in circles. We walk hand in hand to the kitchen and see Laura standing by the fridge.  
"Oh hey Gavin, hey Grace, I'm just trying to decide what to make for dinner." She says and I smile.  
"Hey Laura, I'm game with anything to be honest, I'm kinda hungry." I say and she smiles.  
"Alright well, how about we order pizza?" She asks and I smile.  
"Yeah, sounds top." I smile at her before walking up to Graces room. We sit on the floor and she starts playing with her teddy.  
"His name is Vav and he's a super bear!" She giggles, running around in circles holding out the bear like its flying. I laugh and grab her waist, falling onto my back and holding her up so it's like she's flying too and she giggles loudly. I smile at her and pretend to drop her before catching her again as she's about to hit my chest. I do this a few times while she laughs loudly and stop by lying her on my chest.  
  
  
"Gavvy's tired Gracie." I announce and she sighs.  
"Gracie's tired too Gavvy." She says yawning and sticking her thumb in her mouth, twirling her hair with her other hand. I smile down at her.  
"You wanna have a nap, little one?" I ask and she nods.  
"Can you stay with me though?" She asks and I smile sadly, she's had nightmares since the accident, which is why I wanted her in my room in the first place.  
"Course darlin." I pick her up and get her changed into a cream Winnie the pooh onesie and carry her into my room. She climbs on my bed and gets under the duvet and I smile. "You sleeping in my bed, little one?" I ask and she nods. I chuckle and hand her teddy to her, sitting on the bed next to her. She snuggles into my lap, resting her head on my leg and I stroke her hair, sending her to sleep.  
  
  
After around 10 minutes I decide to call Dan and as soon as he answers the phone I grin.  
"Hey B!" He says excitedly and I smile harder.  
"Hey B!" I say, trying to keep quiet so I don't wake up Grace, but I'm too excited so I say it slightly too loud. Luckily she stays asleep.  
"You alright? Hows your new family? Hows America? Are you okay? Hows Grace?" He asks and I laugh at his enthusiasm.  
"God I miss you so much B! I'm okay, America's alright, it's really sunny though. My new family's good I guess, I like my brother and Laura and Mark are nice. Grace is asleep at the mo, but the second she wakes up I'll call you again! How are you? Hows your family? Ugh I really miss England!" I say and he laughs.  
"I'm glad you're okay B! I miss you so much! You better call when she wakes up, I miss her too! I'm good and my family's good, we miss you being around! England's cold as usual. It sucks without you here B!" He says and I sigh.  
"I miss your family too! It sucks being here without you! I miss being freezing cold! It's so bloody hot here!" I hear Laura calling everyone for dinner and I sigh.  
"B, I have to go eat dinner, but I won't hang up yet because I have to wake up Gracie." I say and turn to Grace.  
"Wake up sweetie." I whisper and Grace wakes up, rubbing her eyes.  
"What?" She asks and I smile.  
"Guess who's on the phone?" I ask and she thinks for a second and when Dan calls her name through the phone her face lights up.  
"DAN!" She shouts and I laugh, nod and hand her the phone, picking her up and carrying her downstairs. I walk into the kitchen holding Grace, who is still chatting and laughing with Dan, holding the phone to her ear with both hands, and everyone turns to look at me.  
  
  
"Hey Gavver, who's Grace talking to?" Geoff asks and I smile.  
"My best friend." I say, chuckling when Grace shouts "BYE DANNY!" and hands me the phone.  
"You alright B?" I ask and he laughs.  
"Your sister is amazing." he laughs. I agree and he continues.  
"By the way, I may be able to come out and visit you during the summer holidays!" Dan says and my jaw drops.  
"Oh my god! Seriously!" I say excited.  
"Yeah, but listen, It's getting late, well, early. I have to go, I'll call you tomorrow B." He says and I smile.  
"Talk to you tomorrow B, love you." I say and he reply's "love you too." Before hanging up. I sit next to Geoff and Grace and grab a slice of pizza. I start eating a slice and Grace keeps trying to reach over and eat it. I laugh and blow the slice to cool it down before handing it to her. She takes a big bite and grins at me, making me roll my eyes and grab another slice. After dinner Geoff asks me if I wanna play video games with him and the guys and, while I like the guys and had a lot of fun playing video games with Geoff yesterday I just don't really want to hang out with them.  
"I promised Gracie I'd go on the trampoline with her, sorry Geoff, sorry lads." I say and he smiles.  
"It's okay Gavvo." He says and I smile and walk into the garden with Grace.

We start bouncing and Grace collapses in the middle of the trampoline laughing. I smile and do a front flip over her, easily landing it, making her scream and laugh harder. "Gavvy!" She laughs.  
"I wanna do that!" She says excitedly and I laugh and kneel down.  
"Come here then." I say and she stands in front of me. I turn her sideways and put my arm across her stomach and my other hand on her back.  
"Alright, when I say go, jump as high as you can, okay?" I ask and she smiles.  
"Yeah!" She say excitedly.  
"Okay, ready? 3. 2. 1. Go!" I say and she jumps. I push her over my arm and hold her until she's back on her feet.  
"I did it!" She says and I smile and high five her.  
"Yeah you did! Soon you won't even need my help!" I say and she grins. We continue jumping, me doing a few more front and back flips, Grace watching and asking me to help her do them too. After an hour or so Grace starts to get tired so I pick her up, throw her over my shoulder gently and take her inside while she giggles sleepily. I put her in her crib and tuck her in, giving her her teddy bear. I kiss her on the forehead and as I'm pulling away she whispers, "I love you Gavvy." Sleepily and I smile.  
"I love you too little one." I whisper and turn on her nightlight.

Michael's POV

I watch Gavin subtly out of Geoff's bedroom window as he helps his sister do flips on the trampoline. I also watch him do a few and I notice it looks so easy as he flips himself around so effortlessly. I smile slightly and go back to playing with the guys. After a few minutes Jack gets my attention.  
"Guys, its 8:30, and I have to be home like 30 minutes ago, so should we call it a night?" He asks and Ray and Ryan agree. We all start to walk downstairs and I look into Gavin's room when I pass to see Gavin tucking Grace in. I smile and leave the house, thinking about how cute Gavin is as I walk home.

Geoff's POV

I see the guys out and walk back upstairs to see Gavin lying on his bed, staring at the stars projected across his ceiling.  
"You know, I thought that's supposed to be for Graces' benefit." I say jokingly, lying next to him, watching the stars too. He breathes out a laugh but continues looking at them.  
"I know, but it helps me think." He says and I look at him for a second.  
"What ya thinking bout?" I ask and he shrugs.  
"Do you not like the guys?" I ask carefully and he shakes his head.  
"I do, it's just- It's only my first proper week in America with you, and my first day in an American school and I've only been with you guys since Friday, and it's a lot to take in. Also, it's been just me and Grace for nearly 4 weeks, I got used to the idea of it being just us. I didn't think we'd be adopted, and if she was, I didn't think we'd be adopted together. Your friends are great, but I had friends in England, and hearing you all laughing and joking around makes me miss them." He says staring at the ceiling and I see tears fill his eyes. I sigh and sit up, patting his shoulder.  
  
  
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have forced this on you so quickly. I wanted to make you feel comfortable at school and stuff; I want you to feel like part of our family." I say and he looks up at me and smiles.  
"I know, and I appreciate it, and I already feel sort of like a part of your family, it's just weird you know? Like, I lost a mum, dad and brother, and I've gained a mum, dad and brother. It just feels like I'm replacing them, and I feel bad, like I'm happy Grace is happy, she's calling Laura mum. Like I know she is her mum but it's just weird to me." He explains and I smile.  
"You're not replacing them Gav. It's okay to move on and carry on with your life; you aren't forgetting them. You'll always remember them, but if you dwell on it and don't move on then you'll feel like shit for the rest of your life." I say and he pulls me into a hug.  
"Thank you." He whispers and I smile, "No problem Gavvo." I pat him on the back before going into my room and falling asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Gavin's POV

I wake up and go to have a shower, but as soon as I am about to step into the shower, I throw up. I quickly wrap a towel around my waist and go into the kitchen.  
"Laura," I say, panicked. I haven't been sick in a long time and I hate throwing up.  
"What's wrong, sweetie?" She asks and I look at her with wide eyes.  
"I don't know, I was getting in the shower and I was sick and now my stomach really hurts." I say and she gives me a hug.  
"Don't worry about it, you go back to bed, I'll clean up and then I'll make you some tea. You're not going to school today, that's for sure." She says and I nod as she hands me a bucket.  
"If you feel sick again be sick in here." She says and I take the bucket, go upstairs, put it next to my bed and lie down. I hear Geoff come in and I turn to look at him.  
"You alright buddy?" He asks and I shake my head, afraid that if I talk I'll be sick again.  
"The 'lads' as you call them, have asked for your number, is it okay if I give it to them?" He asks and I nod.  
"Alright Gavvo, well I'm heading to school, I'll see you later." He says and I nod and wave at him.

I fall asleep but am woken up a few minutes later to Laura putting a cup of tea next to my bed and walking over to Grace. She gets her out of her crib and Grace looks at me.  
"What's wrong with Gavvy?" She asks Laura and she smiles at her.  
"He's just not feeling too good today so he's staying home." She says putting Grace down and she immediately runs over to me. I sit up in bed and she hugs me. I hug her back tightly and she whispers.  
"I hope you get better soon Gavvy." I smile. She leaves with Laura and I take the warm cup of tea and sip it. After a few minutes I get a text from everyone telling me who it is and I add their contact to my phone. Everyone's text is the same, 'hey its _____ I hope you feel better' but then I get to Michaels text and I smile,

Michael-

Hey boi, its Michael, just wanted to say I hope you're feeling better, I kinda missed you in form :( Anyway I'll see you tomorrow hopefully!

I don't know why but the thought of Michael missing me makes me smile. He actually cares if I'm there or not, and that makes me really happy. I decide not to reply to any of the messages, instead, lying back down and falling asleep. I wake up an hour later and throw up again, so I go to the bathroom, clean my teeth and go back to bed, falling asleep again.

I wake up at 1:30 and decide to stay awake. I wrap a blanket around my shoulders as I'm only wearing joggers, grab the bucket, and trudge downstairs to the front room, where Laura is sitting with Grace on the floor drawing something.  
"Hey," I say and my voice cracks. I collapse sideways on the sofa so I'm lying across the whole thing and place the bucket on the floor in front of me.  
"Hey hon, how you feeling?" Laura asks and I sigh.  
"I don't know, I've only been sick one more time, but my stomach still feels weird." I say and she smiles.  
"Well Grace made you something." She says and Grace looks at me smiling.  
"You did?" I ask in a silly voice and she giggles.  
"Yeah!" She says standing up and handing me a card. I pull her onto the sofa next to me and put an arm around her as I look at the card. On the front it says 'get well soon Gavvy.' And I open it to see a picture of me and Grace. Were holding hands and she's holing her teddy. At the bottom of the picture are the words 'love Gracie'. I smile and pull her closer.  
"Thank you, it's wonderful!" I say kissing her head and she grins.  
"You look nice today; did Laura help you get dressed?" I ask and she nods smiling as Laura turns to me.  
"You want anything? Soup or toast?" She asks and I nod.  
"Can I have toast please?" And Laura nods walking into the kitchen.  
"Gracie, could you do me a massive favour?" I ask and she nods.  
"Would you please get my phone for me? It's on my bedside table?" I ask and she nods.  
"Okay Gavvy." I smile, kissing her head.  
"Thank you little one." She runs upstairs and a few minutes later I hear her coming carefully down the stairs. She runs into the front room again and jumps next to me on the sofa. "Thank you Gracie." I say and decide to take a few selfies with her. We take some funny ones and some cute ones and I decide to send them to Dan. Laura comes in with some toast and I smile.  
"Thank you." I say eating a slice and she smiles.  
"No problem Gav, it's what I'm here for." She smiles. I watch some cartoons with Grace and after an hour or so when I remember the text from Michael, I decide I should probably reply so I text him quickly.

Me

Hey Boi, I'm feeling okay now I think, I missed you too, it's so boring being stuck at home, and I'll definitely be in tomorrow! :)

A few minutes later I hear the front door open.  
"Hello?" Geoff shouts and Laura yells "In here!" Geoff walks in and looks straight at me, rolling his eyes.  
"Dude you look like shit!" He says and I smile.  
"Gee, thanks Geoff!" I say and he laughs.  
"Just kidding Gav, but seriously you look better, you feeling okay?" He asks and I smile.  
"Well I ate toast and haven't thrown up yet so I guess I am feeling better." I say and he smiles.

Geoff POV

As soon as I got to the bus stop this morning Michael asked me where Gavin was, literally as soon as I got there, no hello or anything.  
"He's not well, but I sent y'all his number." The school day was pretty normal, but I noticed Michael kept checking his phone. I wondered who it was that he was waiting for a reply from, I know he text Gavin, but who else did he text? During the bus ride home I decide to ask him.  
"Hey Michael, who's so important they got you checking your phone every 5 minutes?" I ask and he just blushes slightly and looks out the window.  
"I don't check it every five minutes!" He says just as his phone goes off, he looks at it quickly then glares and I smirk.  
"Not who you're waiting for?" I ask and he looks annoyed.  
"This is our stop." He says and I laugh as we all walk to the front of the bus and say bye to each other. Just as we're getting off the bus his phone goes off again. He checks it and I see him smile.  
"Who's that Michael?" I tease and he looks up at me. He stare sat me for a few seconds before a weird look, sort of like realisation, crosses his face and he shoves his phone in his pocket and walks towards his house quickly, shouting "bye," as he leaves. I watch him leave, confused, and walk home.

I start talking to Gavin when he gets a message.  
"Who you chatting to Gav?" I ask as he types a reply.  
"Just Micool." He says and I roll my eyes.  
"Have you been talking to him all day? Christ you were supposed to be resting!" I say and he chuckles.  
"No, I WAS resting! I didn't reply until a few minutes ago." He says and it dawns on me. Oh, Michael was waiting for Gavin's reply. Why was it so important to him? I figured he had a secret girl/boyfriend. He was acting like it. Its only Gavin. Unless it's not 'only Gavin.' Fuck it I'm gonna figure this out later, I want food.


	5. Chapter 5

Geoff's POV

"Mum are there any cupcakes left?" I ask and she shakes her head.  
"No hon, but you can go buy some." She offers and I smile.  
"Gav, you and Grace wanna come shop with me?" I ask and he nods.  
"Sure, let me get dressed, can you put her shoes on her?" He asks pointing to Graces shoes in the corner. I put Graces shoes on and Gavin comes downstairs wearing jeans, a t-shirt and converse, one a British flag, the other an American flag. He puts a cardigan on Grace and holds her hand.  
"Alright let's go." I say and we walk to the local shop. We walk in and Gavin takes Grace to the cupcakes while I go get some drinks.  
"Geoff?" I hear and I look around to see Michael.  
"Hey Michael, what's up?" I ask and he shrugs.  
"Connor was complaining about wanting chocolate so mum sent me to get chocolate to shut him up. What about you?" He asks and I laugh.  
"Wanted cupcakes, so we came to get some." I say and Michael looks confused.  
"We?" He asks.  
"Oh yeah, Gavin and Grace are around here somewhere." I say and we go to find them.  
  
  
"There you are Gav." I say when I see him and Grace looking at the cupcakes.  
"I want vanilla ones but Grace wants chocolate ones!" He complains, not turning round but I can see the side of his face.  
"You're such a child." I laugh and Gavin pouts.  
"No I'm not!" He whines, turning to look at me.  
"Oh, hey boi," He adds when he sees Michael.  
"You alright boi?" He asks and I roll my eyes. Now they're "boi's" god help me.  
  
They have a conversation while I grab some chocolate cupcakes and some vanilla cupcakes and go to pay. When I finish and go back to Gavin and Michael they're still talking. I roll my eyes at the two of them.  
"You guys miss one day and you talk for fucking years! You're going to see each other tomorrow! Meanwhile I'm hungry and craving cupcakes!" I say and Gavin bites his lip and grins while Michael stares at him with a weird expression.  
"Sorry Geoff!" Gavin says and I sigh jokingly.  
"Just come on!" I pick Grace up and hold her on my hip, grab Gavins arm and start to drag him away.  
"Alright I'm coming!" He says before shouting "bye Micool!" He shakes my hand off his arm and walks next to me and Grace.  
"So what did you talk about?" I ask and he shrugs.  
"Nothing really, just random shit." He says looking down and I sigh.  
"What happened?" I ask and he frowns at the floor.  
"Honestly nothing!" He says frustrated slightly as we reach the house and he storms in and runs upstairs to his room. I shut the front door, put Grace down, and look after where Gav ran.  
"What's wrong with Gavvy?" Grace asks looking up at me. I kneel down in front of her and hold her hands.  
"Nothing's wrong kiddo, just big kid stuff. You go and play and I'll try to cheer him up, yeah?" I ask and she nods.  
"Okay Geoffy!" She says running into the front room. I put the cupcakes in the kitchen before sprinting upstairs. I knock on Gavin's door once and open the door slowly. I see Gavin lying on his bed facing the wall and crying quietly. I sigh, sitting next to him.  
"Gavver what happened?" I ask gently, putting my hand on his shoulder. He shakes my hand off and I sigh again.  
"Come on Gavvo, what's wrong?" I ask gently and he sighs, rolling over to face me and sitting up.  
"I don't know." He whispers and I frown, "you don't know what?"

"I don't know what's wrong! I feel funny!" He says and I frown again.  
"What do you mean? Are you still sick?"  
"I don't know what's wrong with me, but my stomach feels all weird and flippy and my legs are like, really wobbly and my chest feels weird, my anxiety shot sky high and I don't know why! It just feels so..." He pauses trying to find the right word and I smile knowingly.  
"Alien?" I fill in the gap and he nods. I smile softly, he's so oblivious.  
"When do you start feeling like this?" I ask and I watch as he thinks for a moment.  
"Erm, it happened yesterday morning and at form and break and lunch and stuff and then in the shop when I was talking to Micool." He says and I smile and pull him into a hug. He looks so confused bless him, he genuinely has no idea.  
"Gavver, what do all those things have in common?" I ask and he frowns at me for a second.  
"I don't know. It was the bus stop then school then a shop, they aren't related in any way." He says and I chuckle.  
"Michael, Gav. They all involved Michael. You think maybe you have a thing for him?" I ask and he frowns for a minute before his eyes go wide.  
"Oh my god what am I gonna do?" He asks and I roll my eyes at him.  
"I don't know Gav, but I wouldn't do anything to hurt your friendship, although I'm 100% sure he likes you too." I say and he looks at me with raised eyebrows.  
"Honestly Gav, I've never seen him so obsessive over someone. He was checking his phone every minute and when you finally replied he was practically giddy." I say and I see a small trace of a smile etch its way onto Gavin's face.  
"Now come on, I want cupcakes and Grace was worried about you!" I say dragging Gavin out of bed and downstairs.

Gavin's POV

Oh, so I'm crushing on one of Geoff's best friends, fucking brilliant. But I can't help but think about Michael, every second of the day. The way his beautiful caramel brown eyes shine in the sun, the way his curly deep red hair sits under his beanie and the way I just wanna run my hands through it and feel how soft it is. His incredibly sculptured body and the way that whenever he touches me, even if it's just an accidental bump, I feel a spark of electricity shoot through me. Geoff doesn't seem to have an issue with it, but I don't know how the others will react if they find out and oh god, what will Michael do! I mean Geoff said he probably likes me too but he was just saying that. Geoff pulls me downstairs and Grace runs at me.  
"What's wrong Gavvy?" She asks and I smile, picking her up.  
"Nothing's wrong, just big kid stuff, but Geoff helped me out!" I say and we walk into the kitchen to grab a cupcake.

Michaels POV

This is bad! This is very very bad! I should not be feeling like this! Gavin is Geoff's brother! You can't have feelings for the brother of one of your best friends! Also there's the fact that he's also quickly becoming my best friend and I can not allow my dumb ass feelings to fuck up the amazing friendship we could be building! What the ever loving fuck is wrong with me! But the way my stomach feels all fluttery and my heartbeat speeds up and my legs feel wobbly whenever I so much as think about him, and holy fuck his adorable little grin he does like when we were in the shop and ugh I can't help but think about his amazing bright green eyes that are the most amazing shade of green and his blonde hair that always looks purposely messy that I wanna run my fingers through because it looks so soft. And god his accent! Don't get me started on his accent! Christ the way he says my name just makes me wanna kiss him so bad. And his lips look so soft and god I wonder what they'd be like pressed against mine. But I shouldn't feel this way. "Fuck." I sigh collapsing on my bed. My big brother walks into my room a few seconds later.  
"I heard you pacing, what's wrong? What happened? What did you break? Who did you kill?" He asks and I roll my eyes.  
"Jason I didn't do-" I start and he cuts me off.  
"I'm sure it was an accident." He says and I groan.  
"Just fuck off!" I sigh and he sits next to me and I turn slightly so we're facing each other.  
"Alright, seriously, what's wrong little brother?" He asks and I sigh.  
"I think I have feelings for my friends brother!" I sigh resting my forehead on his shoulder and he wraps an arm around me.  
"Whose brother?" He asks and I bite my lip.  
"Geoff's."

"I thought Geoff was an only child?" He asks.  
"His parents adopted two kids, Gavin and Grace." I say and he nods.  
"Right, and you're crushing on Gavin?" He asks and I nod.  
"How old is Gavin?" He asks.  
"My age. 17." I say and Jason nods.  
"Well Geoff is a good kid; I don't think he'll mind if you started dating his brother." He says and I sigh.  
"What am I gonna say to Gavin?" I ask just as my phone starts ringing. Jason looks at the screen.  
"It's Ray." He says and I shake my head, not ready to change the subject just yet. Jason nods and rejects the call for me.  
"I think Gavins got a boyfriend in England." I say and Jason looks at me.  
"What gave you that idea?"

"Well yesterday he was on the phone to someone called Dan and when he hung up he said 'I love you' so." I explain and Jason nods before saying "but that doesn't mean they're in a relationship, Michael, it could be anything." He reasons and I think back.  
"Well he did say he was talking to his best friend, but he hasn't told any of us if he's gay or bi or anything so he's probably just worried about what we'll say, I mean it took me 2 years to tell you." I mumble and Jason sighs.  
"You have nothing to worry about!" He says rubbing my hair before standing up, "now call Ray back before he gets annoyed." He adds as he walks out my room. I grab my phone and call Ray back.

"Dude what happened to you? Why didn't you answer?" Ray asks, confused. I always answer my phone and if I don't it's because I didn't get to it in time, I never reject calls from people I know.  
"Nothings wrong dude." I say and he scoffs.  
"Somethings up. I'm already on my way over anyway." He says and he hangs up before I get the chance to reply. Sure enough within 5 minutes there's a knock at the front door and seconds later my bedroom door is being pushed open.  
"Alright asshole whats wrong? You always answer your phone, you never reject a call, I was here thinking you were getting robbed." Ray says, shutting my door behind him and falling onto my bed next to me. His words are harsh but his voice is kind of soft and concerned. I shrug and I can basically hear him roll his eyes.  
"Don't bullshit me bro." He says and I huff a laugh, I can't lie to Ray, I'm closer to him than I am to the others.  
"Alright fine but you're gonna be an asshole about it and I won't appreciate it so I will hit you and it will be your fault." I say and he chuckles.  
"Just tell me." He says and I sigh, looking up at the ceiling. I might be about to tell Ray but I won't look at him whilst I do so.  
"I kind of might have a thing for Gavin." I mumble and I pause, waiting for his response. He's silent for a couple of seconds and I chance a look at him. A grin slowly spreads across his face and then he's sitting up facing me and pulling me up with him. "I KNEW IT! Oh my god I fucking new you were gay for him! It's obvious as fuck dude." He says and I punch him on the arm like I said I would.  
"Shut up." I mumble, falling back to my lying position again, and he chuckles.  
"No seriously wow that's great have you told him? Are you gonna tell him? When are you gonna tell him? OH can I tell him?" He rushes and I shake my head.  
"No I haven't told him I don't know if or when I will and no you absolutely can not tell him." I say and Ray just grins and falls back down beside me.  
"I'm glad you fell for a nice guy and not some asshole like yourself. OH DUDE! What do you think Geoff will do? You're so fucked!" Ray exclaims and I shrug.  
"He'll probably just beat me to death." I joke and Ray smiles.

We lie in silence for a while before Ray smiles again.  
"Tell me why you like him." He says and I bite my lip to stop a grin. Me and Ray hang out on our own a lot, playing video games until we fall asleep and making jokes about everyone including each other, but we also talk about our feelings a lot and act like typical teenage girls from a cliche film at a slumber party, talking about who they have a crush on or bitching about someone. I grin at Rays request and start to list everything I love about Gavin, from the colour of his eyes to his personality and how we just seem to connect. Ray and I have no shame when it comes to these conversations because we know that we won't be judgmental and what we tell each other will never be repeated unless it's another cliche moment in our rooms between us two.  
"His fucking accent man. It drives me crazy." I say and Ray chuckles.  
"I get it man, he's British, that's hot." He says and I nod.  
"I just love the way he says my name you know? Or anything for that matter. I could listen to him talk all day. And I would kill to hear him moan oh my god that must be the best sound known to man kind. I love the way he says my name now I can't imagine what it sounds like when he moans my name." I say and Ray rolls his eyes but smiles.  
"Dude you got it bad." He says and I nod and hum in agreement.  
"I'm gonna help you dude. I'll be a wing-man and hook you two up." He states determinedly and I look over at him.  
"Thanks dude." We spend the rest of the day chatting to each other and making jokes whilst Gavin and I text back and forth and we learn everything there is to know about each other.


	6. Chapter 6

Gavin's POV

I wake up I see that its 5:30 and I'm extremely early, so I go and shower before getting dressed. I check my phone and realise the date. 15th of June. A month since Johnny, Mum and Dad died. I feel my heart clench and I let the tears fall. Grace wakes up and looks up at me.  
"What's wrong Gavvy?" She asks sleepily and I sigh before picking her up and hugging her tightly, not even trying to control the tears. After a while I see Geoff walk sleepily past my bedroom door and stop when he sees me. He rushes in and pulls both me and Grace into a hug.  
"What's wrong Gav?" He asks gently and I sigh hugging them both tightly.  
"It's been a month." I whisper and I know that's all I needed to say. He pulls back to look at me and wipes the tears off my face.  
"Come on Gavver, you can't go to school looking like this, you look like shit." He jokes and I smile.  
"Thanks Geoff." I say sarcastically as I put Grace down, letting her run into her room, whilst I look in the mirror and sigh.  
"If I looked like that, I'd cry too." Geoff jokes and I chuckle slightly. He walks over to me and pulls a beanie over my hair before smiling.  
"There, better already." I look in the mirror and smile.  
"Thanks Geoff." He grins at me.  
"No problem, bud." We grab our stuff and walk downstairs, saying bye to Laura, Mark and Grace before walking to the bus stop.

Before we get there Geoff looks over at me.  
"You're eyes are still red, Gav." He points out and I sigh.  
"I'm just counting myself lucky that I'm not crying right now." I whisper as we approach the bus stop and I keep my eyes trained on the ground.  
"Hey guys!" Geoff says trying to keep the attention on him and off of me. I hear a chorus of "Hey!" and I sigh. I look up at Geoff and he gives me a small encouraging smile, so I look to the others and say hello. I notice Ray whisper something to Michael which makes him blush and Ray smirks before they both look at me and their expression changes. No one asks any questions, but when I get on the bus and Michael sits next to me, I know he's going to ask something.  
"What's wrong my boi?" He asks quietly so no one else can hear. Everyone is busy listening to Geoff and Ryan argue about if Geoff's win in gta was valid or if Ryan should have won.  
"It's nothing Micool." I whisper and he frowns.  
"Come on Gavvy, talk to me!" He whispers and I sigh.  
"It's been a month-" I stop when I feel tears well up in my eyes. Michael puts his hand on my thigh, trying to comfort me.  
"It's alright, boi," He whispers before adding "you wanna come round mine later?" I smile slightly and nod.  
"Alright Micool." I whisper and he smiles. He takes his hand away from my thigh but we continue talking, just the two of us, until we reach school, though I do notice Michael and Ray keep sending each other subtle glances which makes me frown. Geoff pulls me aside when we get off the bus and we walk behind the others so we can talk without them hearing. Geoff puts his arm loosely around my shoulders, which is easy as he's quite a bit taller than me, and smirks.  
"My boi?" He asks and I sigh  
"Geoff, please don't start." I whine and he laughs.  
"Aww but Gavvy, it's so cute! Told you he liked you!" He brags and I sigh, casting a glance over at Michael and Ray who are walking very close together and whispering to each other.  
"He doesn't like me, Geoff, we're just friends." I mumble and he pokes my ribs making me look away from Ray and Michael.  
"You're so oblivious." He says and I roll my eyes because no, I'm really not.  
"Oh, I'm going round his after school today, can you tell Laura." I say and Geoff smirks again.  
"Mhmm, sure Gavvy, should we expect you home or will you be staying with Micoo?" He asks mocking my accent and laughing at his own joke. I glare at him and elbow his side while he just giggles and pinches my cheek softly.  
"Aww come on Gav, it's funny." He says and I hear Michael call me.  
"Come on Gavvy, we're gonna be late to form!" I see Geoff smirk and he quietly repeats "Gavvy" and I glare at him again before walking over to Michael.

We walk into form together and the form tutor looks over at me.  
"Gavin, I hear you were unwell yesterday. How you feeling?" He asks nicely and I shrug.  
"Top." I lie, noticing the confused glace he gives me I add "much better" before I sit in between Michael and Miles and we talk about random shit, like how we're the perfect size in relation to water and asking if we'd do certain things for a million quid. After form I have chemistry with Michael, Ray and Jack, which I'm not really looking forward to since Ray and Michael are acting weird. We walk into class and I sit next to Jack, opposite from Michael and diagonally from Ray. Our teacher walks in and starts talking about chemical reactions or something so I zone out because it's literally the last thing I did in England. We all have to do an experiment where we spray a flame with a chemical and whatever colour the flame turns tells us when chemical it was. I set up the Bunsen burner while Jack grabs each of the sprays. We start spraying and watching the colours the flame turns, noting them down.  
"I like the blue one!" I mutter as I spray it again, watching as the orange flame turns bright blue, then back to orange. I spray it again and wonder what it would look like in slow motion. I need to film another slow mo guy's video. Hopefully Dan gets here soon and we can film one; we haven't uploaded since before my family's death. I told our viewers why I haven't uploaded in a while and they all understand, but they're going to start getting impatient soon. I do have a few prerecorded that I could upload, maybe I can upload one later and add a bit at the end apologizing for the lack of new videos.

"You alright, Gav? You've been staring at that flame for 5 minutes." Jack says and I blink before looking at him.  
"Yeah, just thinking, that's all." I say giving him a small smile and he looks at me questioningly before continuing to write. Truth is throughout the entire class Ray and Michael have been huddled together mumbling quietly and they keep smiling at each other and Michael keeps blushing and I know there's something going on between them. I'm pulled out of my train of thought by the teacher telling us we need to put away the stuff so we tidy up and get back to our lesson.

After chemistry I have media, one of my favourite lessons, with Barbara. I meet her outside the classroom and we walk in together.  
"Alright, so last lesson was the final class on camera angles and advertising techniques, so today we're going to be covering the basics of how to edit videos so we're ready to start on our coursework next year." Our teacher says and I sigh, I do this every week.  
"Who knows how to edit videos?" Sir asks and I raise my hand. Looking around the class I see most people with their hand raised.  
"How many of you know more than just cutting a few clips out of a video and adding a song in the background?" He asks and I keep my hand raised and watch quite a few people put their hands down.  
"Gavin is it?" The teacher asks and I nod.  
"How much do you know about final cut pro?" He asks.  
"Everything." I say, not trying to show off, I just genuinely know everything there is to know about it, and he raises his eyebrows.  
"Really?" He asks and I nod.  
"My best friend and I have a youtube channel and I shoot stuff in slow motion and edit it together using final cut. I edit at least one video a week so I've got to know the program pretty well. Also when I lived in England I worked for a film crew that my dad worked with so I edited a bit for them too." I say and he looks impressed.  
"How do you make the video slow motion?" he asks and I get the feeling he's quizzing me.

"I don't, I use a camera that records in slow motion."

"What camera do you use?" He asks and I realise the entire class has been watching, paying close attention.

"We use a phantom flex." I say and he raises an eyebrow. "How did you manage to get a phantom camera?" He asks, probably referring to how much it costs.

"The film company I worked for uses them, so whenever we weren't recording or using them, Dan and I would use them to record for our channel. But when I had to quit my job with them to move here, they gave me one of the phantoms as a leaving present." I say and he thinks for a second before asking "How does a phantom camera work?"

"You have to set it up to record 4 seconds worth of footage, either the previous 4, the next 4, the previous 2 and the next 2, you get the idea. I normally set it to record the previous 4 seconds. When you press the button it starts recording." I say, trying to make it as simple as possible. He nods approvingly and turns to his computer.  
"What's your youtube channel called?" He asks and I bite my lip, not really wanting the entire class to watch my youtube videos, but after some silent persuading from Barbara I tell him.  
"What's the most viewed video?" I tell him and he turns on the projector so the entire class can watch it, turns up the volume, and presses play. During the video I watch him and see that he looks impressed. When the video finished he turns it off and selects another video at random, which turns out to be the Molotov cocktail video. When it's finished he turns off the projector.  
"So, why slow motion?" He asks and I shrug,

"I had access to some awesome cameras, so Dan and I can film things slower than anyone else can, meaning we'll get views. Also I love seeing things you wouldn't normally see, or finding out how things happen. Besides, everything looks better in slow motion." I say and I hear Barbara mumble "Fucking mic drop." Making me look at her and see that she's recording the conversation. I give her a confused look and she smiles.  
"It's going on youtube." I roll my eyes and smile at her. Everyone in class is pretty shocked by the strange new British guy's extensive knowledge of filming and slow motion, and his amount of subscribers on youtube.

At lunch Barbara shows the rest of the guys the video she took of 'our teacher challenging me and me kicking his ass with all my knowledge' as she put it.  
"So that's, what? The seventh teacher you've impressed with your knowledge." Ryan laughs and I bite my lip nervously.  
"I haven't impressed any teachers wi-" I mumble but am cut off by Barbara saying "Maths, you knew how to find circumferences of shit when no one else had even heard of a circumference, English you knew everything about animal farm, including the fucking commandments they painted on the wall, Biology you knew everything about Mitosis and Meiosis, History you could name the date of every discovery relating to medicine and surgery and who discovered them, going all the way back to the sixteenth century."

"Physics you knew everything about forces and space and stars, including their fucking life cycle, Chemistry you knew all the chemicals and their respective colours." Jack chips in. "And in Media you totally fucking destroyed Mr Lewis with his questions about editing, filming and slow motion and left the entire class gobsmacked over how many subs you've got." Barbara continues, and I shake my head, I don't like having everyone's attention on me.  
"I only know about filming because I've worked with a film crew since I was 8, and I've filmed in slow motion and edited ever since then. Also I only know that other stuff because we learnt it in England." I say and Jack rolls his eyes, "You're so much smarter than you give yourself credit for." I just shrug, frowning at the floor when I notice Ray and Michael yet again whispering to each other.

I have a free period next so I decide to stay on the field with Michael, who also has a free period, and Miles, who is bunking his next lesson because he didn't do his homework. Michael sits next to me, leaning against the trunk of the tree behind us, while Miles lies on the grass in front of us. We watch the gym class run around the field for a while before Michael turns to me.  
"I didn't know you knew so much about filming and stuff." He says and I notice Miles has fallen asleep.  
"I told you yesterday that I film in slow motion." I say and he nods.  
"Fair enough. Watching that video was still weird." He says and I frown at him in confusion.  
"Why?"

"Because you were so passionate about it. I don't think I've ever been that passionate about anything." Michael says and I smile.  
"You just gotta find something you love doing, and do it." I say and he looks at me.  
"You think it's possible to be that passionate about a person?" He asks and I think for a second. I feel that passionate about Michael so I guess it is.  
"Yeah." I say, smiling slightly, and he sighs.  
"You feel that passionate about someone?" He states more than asks and I breathe out a short chuckle.  
"I think so." I sigh.  
"Me too." He says and I bite my lip, he's probably talking about Ray.  
"I think the only person I can say for certain I feel passionate about, besides one person, is Grace. I'd go to the end of the universe for her." I say and he smiles.  
"She adores you, and you her." He says and I smile.  
"She's all I have left, apart from Dan, but he's not really family, I mean he's as good as, but It's different you know?" I ramble and he frowns slightly.  
"Yeah, I know." He wraps an arm around my shoulders and I sigh, resting my head on his shoulder, wishing we could be as close as him and Ray. We stay there in silence for the next 20 minutes, until we have to go to our final class.

We wake up Miles and basically drag him to the building. He goes to his next lesson and we go to Maths. We're learning about the quadratic formula and I sigh quietly, resting my head on Geoff's shoulder.  
"Let me guess, you learnt this in England?" Ryan asks and I sigh.  
"Yeah, it was toss then too." Sir goes through it while I zone out and after a few minutes I hear "Mr Free! Would you like to tell everyone in this room the quadratic equation? Since you clearly know it enough to zone out during my explanation." Sir asks and I sigh again, sitting up from my place on Geoff's shoulder.  
"X equals negative B plus or minus the square root of B squared minus 4AC. All over 2A." I reel off so easily it's like reading a book. Barbara grins at me and whispers "You've done it again." And I look up, having been doodling aimlessly on my notepad, and see the teacher staring at me, pure shock on his face.  
"How long did it take you to learn that?" He asks and I shrug as some people in the class try to stop laughter.  
"Not long I guess, our classes in the UK are an hour long and we learned it in less than quarter of a lesson, so around 10 minutes. Maybe 5." I say and roll my eyes when Geoff says, "Damn American education system. Fuck this I'm moving to England." I laugh and say "It may teach better, but it's a hell of a lot more stressful." We finish Maths and go to our form rooms, having random conversations for twenty minutes until we're let out.

We meet up with the rest of the guys and go and wait for the bus. The entire bus ride is spent talking about random shit that's happened that day and what we want to do during the summer. We decide we're doing literally everything there is to do during summer. When the bus reaches our stop we all get off and instead of walking to the right like I usually would, I walk with Michael to the left. I notice that when he says bye to Ray they have a quiet conversation and Ray says something that makes Michael blush slightly and glare at him. We walk to his house chatting about random shit and when he opens his door, we're greeted with "JASON!!! DAVID STOLE MY CONTROLLER BECAUSE I WAS WINNING!" Michael chuckles and tells me to stay quiet for a second so we don't interrupt the argument.  
"I find that hard to believe." I assume Jason says barely audible from the room on the left.  
"I DIDN'T, CONNOR TURNED OFF THE XBOX BECAUSE I WAS WINNING!" I hear who I'm guessing is David yell from the room on the right.  
"That's more believable." Jason calls before Michael decides to speak up.  
"What the fuck is going on!" He calls out and I hear both David and Connor shout "SHUT UP MICHAEL!" While Jason just yells "FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE THEY CAN COMPLAIN TO!" A guy, around 20, walks out of the room to the right and Michael smiles.  
"Hey Jase, this is Gavin. How long that been going on?" Michael asks and Jason shrugs.  
"Since Connor got back from school 20 minutes ago." He sighs before adding "Hey Gavin."  
He gives Michael a smirk and walks back into the living room and I frown, there was definitely an unspoken conversation between the two of them then.  
"You want a drink?" Michael asks and just as I'm about to answer we hear more yelling.  
"Give me a second, I need to restore peace." He says before walking into the room on the right. I follow after him and see two boys, one looks around 13 and the other one looks 18.  
"RIGHT FUCK FACES SO YOU BOTH KNOW I'M A NO BULLSHIT BROTHER AND THIS IS HOW SHITS GONNA FLY!" Michael yells and they both shut up and look up at him, their eyes briefly flicker over to me before snapping back to Michael.  
"Connor, leave David alone for fuck sake, David, just deck him if he pisses you off, for crying out loud!" Michael says before noticing their glaze flicker to me again and adding, "Oh, guys this is Gavin. We're probably gonna be upstairs so Connor if you bother us I will beat the shit out of you." Michael says as he walks out the room, I follow behind him smiling slightly.  
"What?" He asks and I smile, "you can feel the love." I joke and Michael rolls his eyes dragging me to the kitchen.  
"We're from New Jersey, what can I say." He says smiling as he hands me a can of Dr Pepper.

We sit on Michaels bean bag playing video games and chatting about random shit for what only feels like five minutes, when I get a text from Laura asking if I can come home soon because dinners on.  
"I gotta go boi." I say and he sighs, standing and pulling me up. He walks me to the front door and smiles.  
"See you tomorrow my boi." He says smiling and I grin.  
"See you tomorrow my little Micoo." I say smiling before walking home. I see Ray walking towards Michaels house as I walk up to my front door and sigh frowning slightly, go figure they spend every night together.

Michael's POV

The second Gavin leaves Ray says he's on his way over, so I leave the front door open and go into the front room. The entire day he has been joking about what will happen when Gavin comes over or just making inappropriate jokes that make me blush. I hear the front door close and footsteps before Ray walks into the room and flomps down onto the sofa next to me.  
"Dude I just see Gav as he was walking into his house and he did not look happy." He says before even saying hello and I frown.  
"Really? He seemed more than happy when he left." I say and he shrugs.  
"I dunno what was up with him then." He says. We walk into the kitchen and grab a couple drinks before sitting on the kitchen counter.  
"So what happened?" Ray asks and I shrug.  
"Nothing really, we just played video games and talked for a couple hours before he had to go home." I explain and he rolls his eyes.  
"Dude you're not gonna get anywhere if you don't do anything." He says and I chuckle.  
"Bro, I've known him all of 3 days, If I start coming onto him I'm gonna scare him off." I joke and Ray just laughs.  
"I reckon he'd love it. Although, did you see him giving us weird looks today?" He asks and I shrug. "What do you mean? When?"

"Like whenever we were joking about you two or chatting about how to hook you up he would sort of look at us then look kinda sad or something. I don't know maybe I'm imagining it." He says and I think back to when I was whispering with Ray before school and he frowned at the floor.  
"Yeah I have noticed that he does that." I mumble and Rays silent for a while before his eyes widen.  
"You don't think he thinks we're together do you? That's jokes oh my god!" He says before laughing and I glare at him. He stops laughing immediately.  
"Alright it's not funny jeez lighten up." He mumbles and I roll my eyes.  
"But why would him thinking we're together affect him like that?" I ask and Ray chuckles.  
"Dude he likes you. It's the only explanation. He thinks we're together and it's making him jealous. He doesn't want me to be with you cause then he can't be with you!" Ray exclaims and I bite my lip. This all sounds plausible, but then again maybe he just hates me.  
We decide to go upstairs and lie side by side on my bed and stare at the ceiling, chatting non stop about cringe and cliche things as well as general life chats and deep questions until we both fall asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Gavin's POV

I wake up the next morning to Grace crying her eyes out. I sigh and rush over to her, picking her up and holding her close.  
"What's wrong Gracie?" I ask gently, stroking her back. She puts her head on my shoulder and cries into my neck.  
"I feel sick." She sobs and I sigh.  
"Okay baby," I say gently, taking her downstairs to Laura.  
"Laura, Grace isn't well." I say and she walks over to the cabinet and gets out a first aid kit. She puts the thermometer in Graces mouth and looks at it.  
"Oh sweetie, you've got a temperature." Laura sighs going to get some medicine. I look at the time and see its 7:15, so I need to get ready.  
"Okay kiddo, I need to get ready for school." I say gently and she starts crying again, gripping me tightly.  
"No!" She sobs as Laura comes back down.  
"What's up?" She asks and I sigh.  
"Grace won't let me go, and we have to leave for school in half an hour." I say and Laura frowns.  
"Come on sweetheart, Gavin needs to go to school." She says softly and Grace pouts.  
"How about this, you let Gavin go, and we'll pick him up early from school?" She offers and Grace pouts but allows me to pass her to Laura. I rush getting ready and meet Geoff at the front door, saying bye to Grace and leaving.  
"What was all that about?" Geoff asks and I explain how Grace isn't well.  
"Oh, right, and how did yesterday go? You finally tell him or you chicken out?" Geoff asks and I glare at him.  
"I'll take that as you chickened out. But hey tomorrow is the last day and then its summer and you'll have plenty of time to tell him." He says smiling and I smile. I get a phone call just as we're about to get to the bus stop and frown, confused as to who it is.  
"Hey B!" I answer when I see its Dan.  
"B!!!" He yells back excitedly and I chuckle.  
"What's up?" I ask as we reach the others and all get on the bus.  
"Nothing, just on my way home and I figured you weren't at school yet so I thought I'd give you a call, hows the family?" He asks.  
"Grace is a bit Moby dick, but everyone else is top. Hows the lads?" I say and Geoff rolls his eyes, muttering "So British."

"Everyone's top B! We miss you loads though! But we had bangers and mash last night in your honour!" He says and I pout.  
"Without me? You tosser!" I say and he giggles.  
"But hey! I'm coming out to America during the summer!"  
"Oh my god really!" I exclaim and he laughs.  
"Yeah B!"  
"Top! I can't wait!" We continue talking and after around 5 minutes I get a tap on my shoulder from Geoff telling me to get off the bus. I sigh and stand up.  
"Listen, B, I gotta go, we're at school now, so I'll talk to you later, love you."

"Love you too." He says and I hang up.  
"Well that was the longest most British conversation I have ever heard." Geoff laughs as he wraps his arm around my shoulders.  
"Yeah, you speak so fucking quickly at the best of times, let alone when you're talking to another Brit." Jack says and I chuckle.

We walk to form and I notice Michael hasn't said a single word to me today but he and Ray have been whispering together as usual. I sit next to him and notice he stares straight ahead.  
"You alright boi?" I ask and he nods, turning to look out the window. I frown and just talk to Miles instead. First period is Maths with the guys, which must have been the longest hour of my life. It was very awkward as Michael still hasn't said a word to me, which Geoff noticed as he gave me a confused look, which I just shrugged at. Period 2 finally arrives and I have double art with Meg, Ray, Jack and Kerry, so I walk to class with Ray, after he whispered something to Michael, and meet the others in the lesson. I try to converse with Ray as little as possible and when we get to class I sit next to Kerry. I haven't done art yet at this school but I figured it'd be similar to England. The teacher comes in, sits at her desk and says "Alright, go be artists." I look at Jack confused and he rolls his eyes.  
"Just grab anything and paint or draw or something." He says and I nod, an idea already forming in my mind. I grab a piece of card and a pencil and start to draw a self portrait at the bottom centre of the page. I draw myself smiling and colour it with water colours, making it as colourful as I can. I then draw things coming out of the top of my head, bad things, all the negative thoughts and anxieties I have, represented by scary looking figures. I colour this part with acrylic paint, using only different shades of grey and black. At the end of the lesson the teacher walks around the room looking at all the work, choosing pieces to go on the wall in the hallways next year. She's chosen 4 pieces, one of which is Kerrys, when she gets to my piece. She looks down at it and smiles.  
"Wow, that's deep." She says picking it up and adding it to her pile. Kerry smiles at me.  
"Good job Gav!" He says and Meg pouts, "Is there anything you can't do?" She asks and Jack jokes "Yeah, he can't fail!" I chuckle.  
"There's plenty I can't do." I say as the bell rings for lunch. We all walk out to the field together and I sigh when I see Michael already sitting down and Ray walks over to sit next to him. I sit in-between Ryan and Barbara, the opposite side of the circle to Michael, and I see Geoff look from me to Michael and back again before looking at me, confused. I bite my lip and shake my head slightly and he frowns.

I spend lunch sitting in silence while everyone else chats, about what I don't know because I'm not paying attention. When the bell rings we get up and walk to out next lesson. I have physics with Barbara and Ryan, but we all start walking together as everyone has a science lesson and they're all on the same floor. As we're walking Barbara grabs my arm and pulls me to a stop so we can walk behind the others and I frown.  
"What's wrong?" She asks quietly and I sigh, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.  
"Nothings wrong Babs." I say as she wraps her arm around my waist.  
"Bullshit, I've only known you three and a half days but I know you well enough to know that you don't stop talking. You were dead silent at lunch." She says and I roll my eyes.  
"It's nothing Barb, don't worry." I say and she gives me a doubtful look.  
"Seriously Barb, I'm fine." I say and she nods.  
"Alright then." She says as Miles calls back to us "Stop making out the final bell is about to ring." Barbara and I both raise our middle fingers in his direction which makes Miles, Kerry, Ryan and Jack laugh, as they and Michael are the only ones still in the hallway. We let go of each other and walk into class. Physics is long and drags on as I don't understand most of what the teacher is saying, and I'm not really in the mood to actually try and figure it out. After Physics I have English, which again drags on. Not because I don't understand the book, I read it last year, but because Geoff keeps glancing at me in concern. I thank god when I hear the bell ring and basically run to my form room. The 20 minutes of sitting next to Michael in silence is so painful and confusing and when the final bell rings and I walk with Miles and Michael to the bus stop in silence I decide I can't take this anymore. I can't be around Michael like this. I decide I'm just gonna walk home, it's only a 20 minute walk and its better than a 10 minute bus ride with Michael.  
"Hey, Miles, tell Geoff I'm walking?" I ask as we're the first ones to the bus stop. Miles looks at me confused for a second but nods.  
"Alright, Gav. See you tomorrow." He says and I give him a forced smile as I walk away.

Geoffs POV

I meet up with everyone after form, besides Gav, Michael and Miles, and we walk to the bus stop together. I smile when I see Miles and Michael but immediately frown when I realise Gav isn't with them. I know something happened between Gav and Michael and I need to know what.  
"Hey, Where's Gav?" I call as I get closer to them and Miles bites his lip.  
"He said he was gonna walk home. Is he okay? He seems down today, not himself, you know?" He says and he looks concerned so I immediately worry.  
"When did he leave?" I ask and Miles checks his phone.  
"Not long ago, 5 minutes maybe." He says and I turn around and jog towards the direction of my house. If Gavin is dawdling like he usually does I should be able to catch up to him. I rush along the route I know he'd take and after a while I see him walking slowly, further down the street I'm on. His head is down, his hood is up and his hands are in his pockets, but I know its him because of his mismatched converses and his union jack backpack that matches his union jack converse.  
"Gavver!" I call out and he stops walking. I catch up with him and he sighs.  
"Why did you follow me?" He asks and I frown.  
"Gavin, like it or not I'm your brother and I actually care about you. What happened? Why did you wanna walk?" I ask and he sighs.  
"I don't wanna talk about it, Geoff." He mumbles and I frown.  
"Gav, you can talk to me buddy. What happened between you and Michael?" I ask as we reach our street. I notice the guys sat on the wall outside Jacks house, which is a few doors down from ours. Gavin shakes his head. "I don't wanna talk about it. Not out here." He says, louder than a mumble this time and I sigh when he speeds up and walks straight past the guys and into our house with his head down, leaving me standing next to the guys.  
"What happened to him?" Jack asks and I shrug.  
"I dunno, man. But I'm gonna kill whoever did it." I say, mainly to scare Michael into sorting it out, before I follow Gav inside, shouting bye to the guys as I walk away.

Gavins POV

When I get home I go upstairs to do my homework so I don't have any to do during summer, but mainly to distract myself from thinking about Michael and Ray, however it doesn't take long to finish and I sigh as I lie on my bed. After a few minutes Geoff comes in to my room and sits in front of me.  
"Hey." He says softly and I sigh.  
"Hey." Geoff looks at me for a second, searching my eyes for something.  
"The lads are worried about you." He says and I roll my eyes.  
"Yeah, all but one." I mumble and Geoff frowns.  
"What's going on with you and Michael?" He asks softly. I sigh, deciding not to bring up the Ray thing or he'll just tell me I'm overreacting and paranoid or something.  
"I don't know." I sit up and he moves next to me, putting his arm around my shoulders.  
"Gav, what happened?" He asks and I rest my head on his shoulder.  
"I don't know, he was fine yesterday, but today he just, he won't even look at me, let alone talk to me." I explain and Geoff frowns.  
"Did something happen yesterday?"  
"Not that I know of. Ray went round there after I did so maybe something was wrong." I state and Geoff shakes his head.  
"No, that doesn't mean anything, Ray and Michael spend practically every night at each other's house, that's normal. Did you talk about anything yesterday or today? Anything that would of upset him or piss him off?" Geoff asks and I think for a second.  
"Yesterday we talked about being passionate about stuff, like how I am about slow mo and filming. He said he didn't feel passionate about anything, I said he just had to find something he loved doing, then he started talking about being passionate about people, like if it was possible to be passionate about someone. I told him it was, and he told me he thinks he is. Today he hasn't spoken to me. He said hi when we got on the bus, but he hasn't spoken to me since, and we didn't talk on the bus because I was on the phone." I say and Geoff sighs.  
"You were talking to Dan, right?" He asks and I nod.  
"Yeah, but Michael being pissed off at me has nothing to do with Dan." I say and he huffs out a chuckle.  
"Gavver, Michael isn't pissed off at you, I don't know what's wrong with him but whatever it is, it's not your fault." He says before adding "You want me to talk to him?"

"No, it's okay, we break up for summer tomorrow anyway, so if he doesn't talk to me tomorrow, I'll just leave him alone for a while. Don't worry about it." I say.

"Gavver-" Geoff starts and I shake my head.  
"Honestly Geoff, don't worry. Dan's coming during the summer anyway so it's fine." I explain and Geoff sighs.  
"Alright, just, I don't want you to get hurt, you know?" I smile. "I know Geoff, but I'm okay. I'll feel better when Dan gets here in a few weeks." I say and he smiles.  
"Alright, well I'm gonna go play video games, you wanna come?" he asks and I shake my head.  
"I think I'm gonna go play with Grace for a while." I say, getting up and walking downstairs. I spend the rest of the day playing with Grace, trying to make her feel better, and trying to figure out what's wrong with Michael. I change Grace into her pyjamas and put her in her crib, turning on her night light and turning off my bedroom light, before getting changed and going to bed myself. Just before I fall asleep the image of Michael and Ray whispering together pops into my head and I fall into a restless sleep dreaming about the two of them.


	8. Chapter 8

I wake up with a smile on my face; it's finally the last day of school! I get up and showered, getting dressed and pulling a beanie over my hair before I get Grace dressed and take her downstairs. We eat breakfast with Laura and Mark, Geoff joining us half way through, and then we leave for the bus stop. I see everyone standing at the bus stop and sigh when I see Michael, who is yet again chatting quietly to Ray.  
"Come on Gav, just one more day." Geoff says, throwing his arm around my shoulders. I look up at him and smile slightly.  
"Yep! One more day." I say, forcing enthusiasm, and he rolls his eyes, smiling. We reach the guys and say hello and Michael diverts his gaze away. I sigh, leaning into Geoff slightly. I sit next to Geoff on the bus and don't talk to Michael during form or first and second period. At break Geoff decides to throw a party at our house as Laura and Mark are taking Grace to meet Laura's parents so they won't be home until Saturday afternoon and it's the last day of school. Geoff sends out a text to nearly everyone in our year telling them we're having a party and to bring drinks, food and friends. Since it's the last day of school we break up at 12:30 so everyone has plenty of time to get ready before the party starts. When we get off the bus everyone goes home and gets ready for the party before coming round.

I jump in the shower when I hear the front door open, signalling the guys are here. I'm not ready to see Michael, he's been so pissy with me lately. Oh well, I'll just get drunk and try to take my mind off of him. I get out of the shower and get dressed in black skinny jeans and a cut out sides green day top, as its really fucking hot today and the house is going to be full of people. I rub my hair dry and make it look purposely messy and shove my converse on before looking in my mirror. Not gonna lie, I look quite good. I smile slightly and put my chain back on before I walk downstairs to where Geoff is hiding anything valuable in the basement so it doesn't get broken or stolen.  
"Wow Gav, who you tryin to impress?" He asks as he locks the basement door and I roll my eyes.  
"No one, I'm just gonna get drunk and forget about Michael, even if it's just for a while." I mutter quietly and Geoff nods.  
"Be careful Gavvo, don't let anyone take advantage of you." He says as we walk into the kitchen.  
"I won't Geoff, don't worry." I say before helping Ryan and Jack set up the coolers full of alcohol and beers and stuff while Ray and Michael help Jason, Michaels brother who happens to be a part time DJ, set up his music stuff in the garden.

At around 8:30 I hear the door bell ring and I smile, glad that there is finally people here to distract me from Michael.  
"I'll get it!" I tell the lads and I open the front door, leaving it open so people can just walk in. After around half an hour the house is packed full of people and I've already had 2 beers and 6 shots of vodka because every time I see Michael dancing with someone, I drink a shot. I walk into the garden and someone grabs my hand.  
"Hey Gavin." A pretty hot boy that I vaguely recognise from school says in my ear so I can hear him over the music, he has brown wavy hair and ocean blue eyes.  
"Hey! Scott right?" I ask and he nods.  
"You wanna dance?" He asks and I nod, letting him drag me into the middle of the crowd of people dancing. He keeps a hold of my hand so we don't get separated and I start to dance awkwardly even though I'm pretty drunk.  
"Just relax Gav." Scott says gently into my ear, putting his hands on my waist and moving my hips with his in time to the music. I would usually step back so he isn't touching me but I can see Michael and Ray standing close together chatting and decide fuck it so I smile and move against him, putting my arms around his shoulders. We dance together for a while and after around 20 minutes I look up into Scotts eyes, maybe he can help me get over Michael. I grab his hand and pull him out of the crowd and down the side of the house where no one is standing. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him gently. He wraps his arms around my waist and backs me against the wall, making me pull him closer, sliding my tongue into his mouth. We make out for around 5 minutes when I pull away and sigh.  
"I'm sorry." I say and Scott smiles.  
"Don't be." He says before adding, "you wanna go for a walk?" I know I probably shouldn't and Geoff would never allow it but I nod anyway. He grabs my hand and we walk down the side of the house, out the front and to the park.

Michaels POV

I was looking forward to this party to be honest, until I saw Gavin looking hot as fuck and I realised that there is no way in hell he would get through this party without getting hit on and possibly hooking up with someone. As soon as people start to arrive I down what feels like 10 shots and grab a beer, walking into the garden. I start dancing with friends and actually begin to have a good time. That is until I see Gavin start to dance with some dickhead that I think is in our year. I frown when I see them basically grinding on each other and I turn to Geoff, who has also seen Gavin but doesn't seem bothered by it.  
"Doesn't it bother you?" I ask him casually and he shakes his head.  
"He's had a shit month, he's happy and safe, I'm not gonna be the one to stop that." He says wrapping his arm around Griffons shoulders and kissing her. I grab another beer and come back into the garden to see Gavin pulling the dude out of the crowd. I sigh and follow them when I see Gavin pull the dude, what's his name? Steven? Simon? Scott? Oh, Scott. I see Gavin pull Scott into a kiss and I swear my heart shatters, I shouldn't have kept my fucking mouth shut! I should have told him I'm fucking in love with him. I sigh and grab another beer, walking over to Ray.  
"I need to get fucking obliterated man." I mutter and he frowns, looking over to where I came from before realisation crosses his face and he looks at me sympathetically and nods.

Gavin's POV

We walk through the park in silence for a while before Scott sits on a bench and pulls me next to him. I rest my head on his shoulder and he wraps an arm around my waist.  
"I don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of you." Scott says and I frown.  
"I don't. I kissed you Scott, it's all on me." I say and he smiles.  
"It's not like I didn't enjoy it." He says and I sigh, I did too but I couldn't help but imagine he was Michael.  
"Why did you want to dance with me?" I ask looking up at him.  
"You're hot and British and have really pretty eyes, I've wanted to talk to you since I saw you in my maths class on Monday, but then I saw you with Geoff and I knew he'd go mad, so I never said anything but then I saw you tonight and I thought, you know, why not?" He says and I bite my lip.  
"I think you're hot too." I say, mentally adding 'no where near as hot as Michael', and he smiles before slowly leaning in, pausing a few inches away from my lips. I just close the gap, putting my hand on the back of his neck, deepening the kiss.

We sit on the bench for a while talking, staring at the water of the lake we're sat facing, and kissing occasionally. I check my phone and see that it's 2:30am. Shit.  
"Scott, we should probably go back to the party, it's getting late and I'm cold." I say and he pulls off his hoodie, hands it to me and we start walking back to my house hand in hand.  
"You know, I had a good time." Scott says softly and I look straight ahead.  
"Yeah me too." He looks down slightly at our hands and smiles.  
"Would you, maybe, wanna go out sometime?" He asks nervously and I blush.  
"You mean like, a date?" I ask and he nods.  
"I mean, you don't have to- I- this was a stupid idea, forget it." He mumbles and I smile, stop walking and peck his lips.  
"I'd love to." I say and he grins.  
"Brilliant, wow I wasn't expecting that. Can I have your number?" He asks and I put it in his phone. We reach my house and he smiles at me.  
"I'll see you soon, Gavvy." He says and he kisses my cheek. I frown slightly, not really wanting him to call me Gavvy, the only people that call me that are Grace, Dan and Michael and I want it to stay that way. I quickly replace the frown with a smile.  
"Don't call me Gavvy, I hate that." I lie.  
"See you soon." I say and he squeezes my hand before walking away. I watch him walk away before walking into my still packed house, deciding to go straight upstairs and to bed, it's been a long day.

I wake up Saturday morning at around 10 and walk into the kitchen and see the guys sitting at the table, Jack and Geoff with what looks like a shit hangover, Ryan and Ray looking fine as they don't drink, and Michael just looks exhausted.  
"There you are! Where you been? You hook up with someone? I heard you were getting it on with Scott Baker?" Geoff says and the guys all look at me. I blush.  
"Fuck off Geoffrey." I mumble and I see him smirk as I grab a glass of water and go back upstairs before he can ask me anymore questions. As soon as I get in my room I smile. If I go out with Scott then maybe I can develop feelings for him and hopefully I can stop feeling so jealous every time I see Michael with Ray, or Michael will be jealous of me and Scott. This plan still doesn't make me want to go out with Scott though, and I feel kinda shitty for actually kissing him and agreeing to go out with him, and I actually kind of regret it all. I sigh and jump in the shower and take a paracetamol to get rid of my forming headache, downing the entire glass of water, before shoving on a pair of joggers and Scotts hoodie. I walk back downstairs and see the guys in the front room as I walk past. I go into the kitchen and put the kettle on when I hear footsteps. I sigh and turn around and see Geoff standing there smirking.  
"That's not your hoodie." He says and I sigh.  
"Please don't start Geoff." I mutter and he frowns.  
"What happened?" He asks, instantly concerned.  
"Nothing happened- well, a lot happened actually, nothing bad happened. Well, nothing that wasn't my fault." I say and Geoff walks over and jumps up onto the counter next to me.  
"Spill." He says and I sigh, making a cup of tea and jumping up to sit next to Geoff.  
"Well I kissed Scott because I thought it would make me get over Micool, which it didn't but I figured I can force myself to get feelings for Scott instead. Anyway we went for a walk and talked and we sat in the park and then he gave me his hoodie he walked me home and asked me out and I gave him my number and I said I'd go out with him but I'm not really sure I want to and now I feel bad but I don't know, maybe going out with him will be okay." I say taking a sip of my tea and Geoff frowns for a second before he smiles.  
"As long as you're happy Gavvo, but don't let him do anything you don't feel comfortable with and don't go out with him if you don't want to. However if you do go out with him you let me know when you're going out because I wanna have a chat with him." He says and I roll my eyes.  
"Which basically means you're going to give him every threat under the sun." I say and Geoff nods.  
"I'm your brother, it's my job to threaten your boyfriends." He says and I laugh as we walk into the front room and sit on the sofa.  
"Look who decided to show up! Hello Gavin." Ray says and I flip him off, only half joking because I saw him and Michael dancing close together last night and they were whispering to each other and I fucking new there was something between them, seeing them dancing was the only reason I actually agreed to dance with Scott in the first place. My phone goes off and I see a text from Scott.

Unknown number-

Hey Gavvy, it's Scott, I had a great time last night, can't wait to see you again X  
P.S. Keep the hoodie ;)

I bite my lip as I save his number before replying,

Me-

Hey Scott, I told you not to call me that. I had a great time too, hopefully see you soon x

Geoff looks at me concerned and I look away quickly.  
"Who you texting Gav?" Jack asks and I lock my phone out of instinct.  
"No one." I mumble, unlocking my phone again and replying to a new text, and Ryan smirks.  
"Probably the dude he was banging last night." He says and I give him the finger, not meaning it at all because I actually love Ryan, not looking up from my phone, making the guys laugh, well, all but Michael. He still hasn't spoken to me and he seems incredibly pissed off with me. I sigh and watch Ray and Jack play call of duty until we decide to get food. We go into the kitchen and make pancakes, sitting at the breakfast bar to eat them. Halfway through eating I get a phone call. I look down at the screen and frown slightly when I see its from Scott, we just spoke over text so why is he calling me? I walk out the kitchen as I answer the call.  
"Hey."  
"Hey, Gav, I was wondering if you're busy on Tuesday?" He asks.  
"Don't think so." I say.  
"You maybe, wanna go out somewhere?" He asks and I bite my lip. I would rather just spend the day at home but if I want to learn to have feelings for him then I will have to see him at some point.  
"Yeah, sure."  
"Brilliant, I'll pick you up at 12?"  
"Yeah okay, cool." We say bye and I hang up before walking back into the kitchen.

"Who was that?" Geoff asks smirking as I sit back down.  
"Er, Dan." I say, taking a bite of my pancakes.  
"Sounds suspicious." Ryan says stroking his chin. I roll my eyes and take another bite of my pancakes.

Michaels POV

Everyone has been joking with Gavin about Scott ever since he got up. I know they're just joking around and no one knows how I feel about Gavin, apart from Ray, but I feel like they're rubbing my face in it. I sigh as Gavin obviously lies about who he was on the phone to.  
"Sounds suspicious." Ryan says and Gav rolls his eyes.  
"Leave him alone, Ryan. If little Gavvo doesn't want to tell us about his new boyfriend then he doesn't have to." Geoff says wrapping his arm loosely around Gavin's shoulders, making Gav glare at him, but the glint in his eyes tells me that Geoff isn't wrong. I hear my phone go off and I smile with relief, looking at my screen.  
"Gotta go, guys, Jason's going mad." I say standing up quickly and I walk into the front room, sit down and shove on my trainers.

"You alright dude?" Ray asks and I stand up, shoving my phone in my pocket.  
"Yeah, just gotta go." I say and he raises an eyebrow.  
"Alright, I just- I can't stay here and listen to that anymore, but Jason did text me so I wasn't lying." I say and Ray sighs putting a hand on my shoulder.  
"Michael, I know it sucks and believe me I'd rather Gav be with you than Scott but if they are together you can't really do anything about it. You can't break them up and Gavin seems pretty happy with him, you don't want to be the one to ruin that." He says and I sigh.  
"I know, it just hurts you know?" I say and Ray nods, pulling me into a hug.  
"I know it hurts, Michael. But think of it this way, when it turns out Scotts a dickhead and Gav breaks up with him, you can be the one to make him feel better and then he'll realise that you're the one he loves." I sigh and nod.  
"Yeah, you're right." I say before pulling away from the hug. I shout bye to the guys briefly before leaving the house.

When I get home Jason basically drags me into the front room.  
"You're pissed off." He states and I roll my eyes, he knows me too well.  
"Gavin has a boyfriend." I say sitting on the sofa and Jason's eyes widen as he sits next to me.  
"Fucking hell dude, since when?" He asks shocked and I sigh.  
"Since the party last night. He was fucking making out with this dude and he disappeared around 12 and didn't come back until god knows when!" I say, resting my head in my hands.  
"And they're already going out? The fuck?" Jason says and I shrug.  
"I don't know. But it's like he's rubbing my face in it, the guys keep talking about it and I just want to shoot myself in the head." I say resting my head on Jason's shoulder and he sighs.  
"I know little brother, it sucks doesn't it." He says softly, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.  
"You want me to get rid of the dude?" He asks and I chuckle slightly.  
"Jase, I don't think this is a valid reason for murdering someone." I say and he sighs.  
"It was worth a shot."


	9. Chapter 9

Gavin's POV

Michael has been acting so weird lately and I have no idea why. He hasn't been talking to me and he left really abruptly just now, after Ray followed him into the front room. The gents have gone into the games room and Ray and I stayed in the kitchen. I don't really want to talk to Ray about Michael but he'll know better than anyone as they're always fucking together.  
"Hey, Ray?" I ask quietly and he places his phone on the table and looks up.  
"Yeah Gav?" His phone goes off and I see Michaels name flash on the screen and Ray quickly deletes the notification and yeah, that's all the confirmation I need.

"You know if there's something wrong with Micool?" I ask, desperate to find answers.  
"What do you mean?" He asks and I sigh, he's playing dumb and I hate it.  
"Well he hasn't spoken to me in a few days and he won't even look at me anymore, have I done something to upset him?" I ask confused and Ray sighs.  
"Listen Gav, why don't you maybe try texting or calling him? I'm not really the one to talk to, you know?" He says and I sigh. I wanna say it's bullshit and that I know he knows something because they're always talking to each other and they sleep over at each others every night and a couple of times when I've been trying to listen in on their conversation or I've 'accidentally' seen a text pop up on one of their phones I've seen my name but I decide if they're gonna keep secrets from me then fuck them.  
"I'll just leave him alone for a while then." I mutter before sighing again and walking up to my room.

;;;

"Gavin! Come down here for a second please." Laura calls up the stairs after half an hour and I sigh. The guys are still downstairs and I really am not feeling seeing Ray again. I walk down the stairs and into the front room, frowning when I see everyone sat down, Geoff, Ryan, Ray and Jack sat on one sofa, Laura, Mark and Olivia on the other.  
"This some sort of intervention? What's up?" I ask, joking slightly but actually confused and a little worried.  
"Hey B." I hear from behind me and I look at Geoff quickly, who is holding both mine and Dan's phone, which I didn't notice I'd left downstairs. I spin around and jump up at Dan in a hug, wrapping my legs round his waist and my arms wrapping round his neck, his arms immediately winding around my waist.  
"B! What the bloody hell are you doing here oh my god." I mutter into his neck and I feel him grin against my neck.  
"Laura flew me out here. Said you were missing me." He says and I get off him but we leave our arms wrapped tightly around each other and stay pressed together.  
"I missed you so fucking much B you have no idea." I mumble quietly and he takes a deep breath.  
"I missed you too B." He grins.  
"Alright, as moving as this is, Gav, you wanna introduce us cause we barely got to say hello." Geoff asks, finally stopping the recording and I notice he was snapchatting for both of us. I turn to Geoff, leaving my left arm around Dan's shoulders and his right arm stays around my waist.  
"B, this is Geoff, Jack, Ryan, Ray, Mark and Laura. Everyone, this is Dan." I say and everyone says hello to Dan and we chat to everyone for a bit before I decide fuck everyone else I want to talk to Dan alone for a while so we take our phones off of Geoff and go up to my room, which feels a lot bigger since Olivia's crib was put back into her own room a few days ago. Dan walks over to my bed after dropping his bags on the floor and I join him, smiling when he wraps his arms around me.  
"I missed you so much B." I say and he smiles.  
"I missed you too B. You have no idea how hard it was to not tell you I was coming." He says and I bury my head in his chest and breathe in his smell. I may have only been living with Geoff and his family for a week but Olivia and I stayed in a hotel for a few weeks, having moved out to America only a few days after our parents and Johnny died. I tell Dan about Michael and Ray and Scott and after a few minutes I hear my door open.

"Hey Gavver, me and the lads are gonna go to the park, you two wanna come?" Geoff asks and I look up at Dan who shrugs.  
"Up to you B." He says and I look back at Geoff.  
"Yeah okay." I say and Dan and I follow Geoff downstairs. Dan and I walk behind the guys, my arm around his waist and his thrown around my shoulders. As we walk Michael joins us and before I can even tell Dan who it is he turns to me.  
"That Michael?" He whispers in my ear and I nod, frowning when Michael walks straight to Ray.  
"Michael, this is Dan, you know, Gavins best friend from England." Geoff says and Michael glances at Dan.  
"Nice to meet you, Michael." Dan smiles, sounding polite but I know him better than anyone and I can tell he's sort of being passive aggressive.  
"You too." Michael says, and I notice his glance flicks towards our arms around each other before looking away. We walk to the park chatting to each other, mainly Geoff, Jack and Ryan asking Dan questions or me and Dan telling them jokes or us two speaking very quickly, my British mannerisms and slang quickly coming back when I talk to Dan, and Geoff and the guys find it hard to keep up or understand the conversation. We get to the play area and take over the swings and climbing frame, which are right next to each other. Dan and I lie in the round net swing, his arm around my shoulders, Geoff and Jack sit on the two swings next to us and Ryan, Michael and Ray lounge on the climbing frame. Geoff, Jack and Ryan start talking about a new game coming out soon and Michael and Ray are huddled together chatting quietly.  
"I see what you mean. It definitely seems like something's up with them." Dan whispers and I turn my head towards him, my face right next to his neck so I look up slightly.  
"I know right. Geoff said it's nothing and that they're just close but I reckon it's bullshit." I mumble back and he nods.  
"Listen, I'm only here for a week, and I'm not allowing you to be anything other than happy while I'm here, okay? I won't leave unless you're happy." He says quietly and I smile up at him slightly, my head still resting on his shoulder.  
"Well then maybe I won't be happy, then you can't leave me." I say and Dan rolls his eyes and starts tickling me.  
"Not fair. This is cheating!" I say through laughter as I squirm and writhe under his touch, trying to get away from the tickling, and I notice that everyone's attention is now on us but I don't care, I'm with my B. He doesn't stop though, just moves so he's hovering over me more, preventing me from moving, and continues, his arm is still under my head though and our bodies are almost flush against each other.  
"B please stop." I gasp through laughter and he sighs dramatically.  
"Oh all right then." He chuckles and I giggle, kissing his cheek as he falls beside me again, returning to our previous position.  
"You alright Gavvo?" Geoff asks and I grin at Dan.  
"I'm awesome." I say and Dan smiles proudly. I realise Michael looks extremely pissed off right now and I wish I didn't care but I hate him being upset.  
"You wanna go home?" Dan whispers to me, noticing the frown on my face, and I nod.  
"Hey, Geoff, Gav and I are gonna head home, jet lags getting to me and he's had an emotional day." Dan says and Geoff nods.  
"Okay dude, we're probably gonna be home in about an hour. If you're asleep we'll keep the noise down, but we'll be in my room if you want to join us." Geoff says and Dan nods. "Will do mate." Dan climbs off the swing and pulls me up with him, his arm immediately wrapping around my shoulders.  
"You alright Gavvo?" Geoff asks and I notice his glance flicks to Michael and back to me quickly.  
"M fine." I say but I give him a look to tell him no and that he's right that Michael had something to do with it and he nods in understanding.  
"Alright well we'll see you at home." Geoff says and I say a quick bye to the guys before wrapping my arm around Dans waist and letting him lead us home.

Geoff's POV

We watch Gavin and Dan walk away and the second they leave ear shot Jack smiles slightly, but I saw the tears in Gavin's eyes and the sadness on his face.  
"They're cute." Jack says and I smile at the comment, but notice Michael glare at the swing they had previously been sat in.  
"No one makes Gav happier than Dan. He's been feeling a little shit and he was so excited that Dans here." I say. I noticed the way Michael kept looking over at Gavin and Dan in an angry jealous way and I realise that the situation between him and Gav is worse than I thought.  
"Yeah but they have to be together right? I mean when Gav saw Dan earlier they looked almost ready to make out and when Dan was tickling him I honestly thought they were gonna fuck there and then." Ryan chuckles and I breath a laugh.  
"I would love it if they were together, but I think they're just that close. Which is unfortunate. Dan is one of the only people I would allow to date Gavin." I joke and Jack laughs. "You say that as if he isn't the only one you'd allow to date him." Jack says.  
"There's one more person I'd maybe allow to date him, but only if that particular person stops being a dick to him and sorts himself out." I say matter-of-factly before we decide to walk home. We walk past Gavin's bedroom when we get home in order to get to my room and we look into Gavin's room to see him fully lying on Dans chest, his head facing the door and there are tear stains on his cheeks and his face is puffy from heavy crying. Dans arms are protectively around Gavin, keeping him close. They're both fast asleep.  
"And you're telling me they're not together." Jack says jokingly before walking into my room, followed by Ryan and Ray.

I grab Michael's arm and pull him back. I notice he's frowning at Gavin and Dan and his eyes are focused on Gavin's face.  
"You do not get to frown." I whisper yell, angry that he upset Gavin so much he broke down and cried.  
"What do you mean?" He asks. So he's playing dumb. Fine.  
"Look at him." I say, releasing his arm, and Michael glances at Gavin then down at the floor.  
"You do not get to frown when you cause that boy so much hurt. He has been through hell this past month and he finally starts to feel somewhat happy and then you fuck him up for no reason what so ever, ignoring him and making him feel like shit. Then the one person who had the power to make him happy again, the one person Gav has been looking forward to seeing again, shows up and you act like a stroppy little bitch just cause he's the one lying next to Gavin and making him laugh. I don't know what your problem is Michael, and to be honest, I don't care. I don't care if you're in love with Gavin, and I don't care if you hate Dan because of it, and I really don't care if you're jealous of those two, I genuinely don't give a fuck. I just care about the fact that you are making my brother unhappy and are also being a prick to the one person that makes him happy and causes him to laugh again. Now fix it, before you cause him anymore pain." I start off whispering but by the end of my rant I'm growling and am so close to Michael that he can probably feel my breath on his face. He steps back and sighs.  
"Geoff I'm sorry that I upset him I just-" he starts but I cut him off.  
"Michael, I don't care if you're sorry. That means nothing to me. I'm not the one you need to be apologising to. Now get your ass in my room so we can play video games and when Gavin wakes up you apologise to him and you apologise to Dan and you beg and you plead and you tell Gav why you were ignoring him and breaking his heart because he's the one that needs to hear that shit, not me." I say before pushing him towards my room.

Gavin's POV

When I hear the front door open I look up at Dan with wide eyes.  
"I don't want to talk to them B." I whisper, my voice weird from the sobbing. Dan just pulls my head to his chest.  
"Pretend to be asleep B." He whispers back, his arms snaking around my back and I bury my head in his shoulder, turning my head to face the door. We hear the guys walk upstairs, and I thank god I was crying just now and so my face was already red or I would have blushed hard at Jacks comment and given us away. I then hear Geoff trying to quiet yell at Michael, I feel slightly bad, Geoff is terrifying when he wants to be, but I'm glad he's looking out for me. I hear them walk down the hall and look up at Dan.  
"I don't want to talk to him B." I sigh and he smiles softly.  
"Come on, it's like 3am in England, I want to sleep." He says and I slide off of him and cuddle into his side instead, my head buried in his neck.  
"I missed sleeping with you." I whisper and he smiles.  
"Me too Gav."

;;;

It's a couple of days after Dan got here and I probably couldn't be happier. We spend every waking moment together, but then again we sleep curled up together so we spend every sleeping moment together too. I've decided to ignore Michael for now; Dan only has 4 more days here and I am focusing all of my attention on him until he leaves. We're currently sitting on my bed watching a film whilst Geoff, Michael, Ray, Ryan and Jack play video games in Geoff's room. Yesterday Dan met Barbara for the first time and they got on so well, which made me happy because I think that besides Geoff, Barbara is my best friend in America. I look over at Dan and smile, so fucking glad he's here. I messaged Scott a few days ago to tell him that I won't be able to go out with him for a while because Dans here and he took it okay I think, even though he was a bit blunt with me and he keeps texting me a lot even when I ignore him.  
"You alright B?" Dan asks and I nod, I need to just appreciate the fact that Dan is here.

Geoff's POV

Every so often we hear a noise or a laugh or a few words spoken slightly louder come from Gavin's room and every time we do I notice Michael stop laughing or smiling or whatever he's doing. After a few minutes I hear Gavin and Dans laughter followed by Gavin making one of those dumb noises.  
"B!" Gavin giggles and I roll my eyes, it's a shame they're best friends because they would be cute together and it does sound like they're doing something not platonic.  
"Sounds like Gav's cheering up, huh?" Jack comments. He's been worried about Gavin a lot lately. So has Ryan. Ray probably is too but him and Michael are kind of secretive about certain conversations.  
"He's definitely better, but he is dreading Sunday. I think he thinks the second Dan gets on that plane he's never gonna see him again. Gavin's trying to have as much time with Dan as possible before he leaves, which isn't hard as they literally spend every second together. I think the only thing they do separately is shower." I joke but I mean it. I'm more worried than anyone.  
"Would he feel better if we all went to the airport with you on Sunday?" Ryan asks.  
"I think that's a good idea. He needs to know he isn't alone." I say and Ryan nods. We hear another laugh come from Gavin and I roll my eyes, smiling slightly. I see Michael yet again get more and more jealous. With every laugh he gets more pissed off. Eventually I give up.  
"Michael for fucks sake be thankful that Dan is here to make him laugh because if he wasn't here Gavin would be crying himself to sleep every night. Take your jealousy and fuck off because after everything you did to him you should be thanking Dan." I flip, telling Michael to get a grip on things. I know Ray knows about Michael's feelings for Gavin and Ryan and Jack have both asked me on many occasions if Michael has a thing for Gavin. Michael blushes slightly and goes back to staring out the window and the other three look at me for a second before turning back to the tv.

It's been a while since we last heard anything from Gavin's room and I assume they've fallen asleep or something until I hear Gavin's voice. He's been crying, I can tell, and I hear him shout "Why the fuck would you do that." And he sounds so angry but so so sad and very broken.  
"The fuck?" Jack asks me and I shrug as my bedroom door opens and I see Gavin stood there, eyes red and puffy.  
"Geoff can I talk to you a sec." He chokes out and I frown, immediately standing up and pulling him into a hug.  
"What happened Gavvo?" I ask as Dan comes out of Gavin's room and walks over to us.  
"B I'm sorry." He sighs and I frown. What the fuck could Dan have done to make Gavin this upset. Gavin pulls out of the hug we're still in and I see his eyes are leaking tears again.  
"What happened bud?" I ask Gavin and it's now that I realise I didn't shut my bedroom door and the guys are watching curiously. Gavin turns to Dan and looks him in the eyes and Dan sighs.  
"I told him I've joined the army." Dan tells me, his eyes never leaving Gavin's, and Gavin immediately folds into himself further and whimpers. I nod in understanding as Dan reaches forward and Gavin lets him pull him into a hug.  
"B I'm sorry." He whispers in Gavin's ear and Gavin buries his head further into Dans chest.  
"I don't want you to die B. I can't lose you too." Dan kisses the side of Gavs head before smiling slightly.  
"Gav, the amount of times you've shot at me or tried to blow me up I'm gonna be the safest one there, I've had loads more training." He says and Gavin chuckles slightly. I smile and look at Dan, silently telling him not to worry and that Gavin's gonna be okay.  
"Come on B, we didn't pause that film." Dan whispers and Gavin nods, letting Dan lead him to his room.  
"He'll be okay, right?" Ray asks and I nod, picking up my controller again.  
"He'll be fine, it just means he's gonna be a bigger wreck on Sunday when Dan leaves."  
"Doesn't Dan still have a year of school like us?" Jack asks and I shake my head.  
"Dan's older than Gav." I explain and Ryan nods in understanding.  
"So that's why he wasn't happy about Dans announcement? Cause he'd be deployed soon." I nod and we get back to playing video games. When we're called down for food later we sit around the dining table and there's a strange atmosphere. Gavin is sat in silence, moving bits of pasta around his plate but never actually eating anything and me and the guys try and start up conversations. I want to ask Dan about his deployment and stuff but I don't want to set Gavin off. Eventually though, Grace does that for me.  
"Danny! Mummy Laura said you're a soldier now!" Grace says and I smile slightly, she started calling Mum mummy Laura a few days ago, since she is technically her Mum now but she saves the single term 'mummy' for her actual Mum.  
"That's right kiddo." Dan says, smiling at her but I see his arm move under the table and I assume he's resting his hand on Gavin's leg.  
"What does that mean?" She asks.  
"It means I'm going to fight bad guys." He says, explaining it in the most child friendly way.  
"So you'll be protecting us?" She asks and Dan nods.  
"Yep." He says and then Grace grins at him.  
"Like a superhero? Like how Gavvy protected me in the car crash that killed Johnny and Mummy and Daddy." She says and the room falls silent. Gavin freezes, he drops his fork as he looks up with wide eyes at Grace and it honestly looks like he's about to throw up. He's remembering the accident, which means he's gonna break down soon. Very soon.  
"Erm, that's right darlin." Dan says to Grace but he keeps his eyes on Gavin, as does everyone else.

Gavin stands up shakily and I get ready to stand in case he collapses because he does not look stable. He walks out of the room and I hear his footsteps as he sprints upstairs and then his bedroom door shut. I then realise that he hasn't told the guys how his family died or that he was there.  
"What happened to Gavvy? Did I do something wrong?" Grace asks and Dan walks over and picks her up.  
"No Angel of course not." He says and I stand up.  
"I'll be right back." I mutter before sprinting after Gavin. I open his door slowly and see him stood in the middle of his room, looking so lost.  
"Gav?" I say softly, trying not to startle him. He looks up at me and he has a weird look on his face, almost shock but also dread and fear and sadness.  
"She- I- She shouldn't- I was praying she wouldn't remember it." He stutters and I pull him into a hug.  
"She's a strong kid Gavvo, and she obviously doesn't mind talking about what happened. Maybe it would do you both good if you spoke about it. At least to each other." I say and Gavin nods into my shoulder.  
"She called you a superhero Gav." I add and he nods before pulling away and wiping away a few tears that escaped. He breathes in deeply and squeezes his eyes shut as if he's willing away tears. I stay silent, letting him do whatever he needs to do and after around 30 seconds he opens his eyes.  
"I don't know what to do, Geoff." He says, his voice holds no emotion but it cracks half way through and his eyes are full of desperation and fear.  
"About what Gav?"

"Grace is gonna turn out emotionally fucked up like I am and I can't tell the guy I like that I like him and I don't know what to do with my life and I don't feel like I belong anywhere and I feel so many emotions but at the same time I feel empty and my best fucking friend is joining the fucking army and if I lose him then I don't know what I'd do. I can't lose him Geoff I can't lose another brother. And now everyone knows how they died and that I was there and didn't save them and I didn't want them to find out at all let alone like that I don't know what to say to them or how they'll react." He starts crying a few words into his rant and at first he tries to wipe the tears away but he gives up eventually, letting them fall. I put my hands on his shoulders, forcing him to look me in the eyes.  
"Listen to me. Grace is going to be fine because she is as strong as you and she has you and me and mum and dad to help and support her. You're just nervous about telling him, and it's okay to be nervous, he's nervous too, we all find it hard to admit feelings, and it's harder for you because one, you're British, and two, you've been hurt a lot in the past and you don't want to cause yourself anymore pain which is understandable. No one knows what they want to do with their life Gav, you're only 17, you've got an entire lifetime to figure it out. You belong right where you are, with me and grace and mum and dad and the guys, and we will be here for you no matter what. You've had an emotional few months, I don't blame you for being all over the place. The guys do know now, but they just wanted to make sure you're okay and you can not save everyone. Dan is joining the army and he's gonna fight for your country and he is going to do us all proud and he will be fine, I promise. You're not gonna lose Dan, Gavin. Dan is not going to leave you. He will go and fight and he will kick ass because he, like you and Grace, is strong. Everything will be okay. I swear to you. You can't save everyone Gavin. You saved Grace and you. It's okay to only save one person, Gav, and it's okay if that person is you." I say staring into his eyes and he bites his lip before nodding.  
"You gonna come back down and eat something?" I ask and he closes his eyes and breathes in deeply before nodding. I grin and put my hand on his back, leading him back downstairs. Gavin sits down and starts to eat slowly in silence and the rest of the guys look at me, wanting to know what happened.  
"Well, I'm done. Who's up for video games?" I ask and the guys nod, standing up and we all leave the room, leaving Gavin and Dan alone. I notice Michael watches Gavin as he walks out the room and I frown slightly, he must feel the same way Gavin does.

"Alright guys, you go on up to my room and set everything up. Ray I need to talk to you real quick." I say and the guys walk upstairs whilst I go into the kitchen.  
"Alright. I know somethings going on with Michael, he's becoming more and more of a jealous twat and I see you two having private conversations and you spend pretty much every night together, so spill." I say and Ray bites his lip before sighing.  
"Alright fine, but you didn't hear it from me. Michael is like full on hardcore soul destroyingly actually cringey to the point of making me want to vom head over heels in love with Gavin but he's being a little bitch about it so I make the occasional joke about them and stuff cause it's funny to see his reaction or he'll rant at me about how amazing Gavin is or the colour of his eyes or his accent and that sort of shit and how he hates Dan with a passion simply because Dan is Gavins best friend like every time he hears Gavin call Dan B or visa versa he gets so jealous." Ray says and I roll my eyes.  
"You know Gavin's in love with him too right?" I ask and Ray raises an eyebrow.  
"Last time I had a proper conversation with him was the day Dan got here. He asked if Michael was okay and said he didn't mean to upset him or something, but he's been ignoring us both since then and a bit before then actually so honestly I had my suspicions but there was no evidence." He says and I roll my eyes.  
"He was under the impression that you were with Michael cause you're always together and chatting quietly." I say and Ray chuckles.  
"They're both so clueless." He jokes and I nod before we both join the rest of the guys in my room.


	10. Chapter 10

Gavin's POV

The rest of Dan's time in America is pretty much the same as the first few days, me still ignoring Michael and Ray and only talking to Jack and Ryan a few times, mainly hanging out with Dan and we film a few slow mo guys videos. On Dans last day it finally sinks in that he's actually leaving me and joining the army and could die and how much I really wish he was staying here. I walk into my room to see Dan packing his suitcase and I sigh.  
"Please don't go B." I whisper, tears already escaping my eyes. Dan turns around and frowns at me sadly before walking over and pulling me into a hug.  
"I wish I could stay here with you Gav, but I need to go home." He says and I bury my head into his neck.  
"I don't want to leave either." He whispers and I let the tears fall.  
"I don't want to say goodbye to you again Dan. It kills me. I wish I never moved here." Dan sits on my bed and pulls me into his lap, wrapping his arms around me, like he did the night my family died.  
"Believe me Gavver, I know. I hated it when you left and it kills me having to leave you. But you have a family here Gav. One that wants to love you. And you have to let them. Gavvy you deserve to have people love you as much as I do. I can see how much Geoff loves you, he already treats you like a brother, and Laura and Mark love you too. And you're friends, no matter how much you ignore them, love you too." He says and I sigh.  
"But I'm happy when I'm with you, Dan. I love you and I miss you and your parents and my friends, and England. I hated leaving you. You've been my family long before my family died. I don't need this one." I choke on a sob over the last few words and Dan sighs.  
"I know you were happy with us in England Gav, But you're also happy here. I could tell by the way you spoke when you were telling me about everything here and the friends you've made. It sucks leaving you but you have a new life here, you can move on and start fresh with a new family. And we talk to each other pretty much every day anyway, so what if its just over the phone. Also if I stay forever we'd have to share a bed and we're close enough already, people already think we're together." He says and I chuckle at that last comment.  
"I wouldn't mind being with you if it meant you can stay here." I mumble before continuing.  
"Remember when life was simple? When we would run around without any worries and the only stress we had was which Pokémon cards we would get. When it was just Gav and Dan against the world. I miss those days Dan. I miss going to the beach with mum and dad and Johnny and you. I miss sitting next to you in class and talking so much we had to stay in at break as a punishment. I miss hiding in your tree house so I didn't have to go home, or when we got older and I would come over just to play a few games of halo and then suddenly it was 5am and we were talking about who knows what and I hadn't been home in a few days. Now I wish I spent more time at home with mum and dad. I regret ever telling Johnny to leave us alone. I told him I hated him once. How could I do that to my baby brother?" I spill out every thought I've had bottled up inside me as I sob onto Dans shoulder and he wipes away my tears when I'm done.  
"I miss those days too, when we could be anything we wanted to be. But life sucks Gav. Bad things happen to good people and I know its unfair and it hurts like a bitch but unfortunately we just have to get on with life, because the world isn't going to wait for us to stop feeling sad. The world is still spinning, and we have to move with it, or we will be left in the dark. You'll see them again. Remember what your mum used to say about your granddad?" He says and I smile sadly, remembering it.  
"He's waiting on the other side of the stars, on the dark side of the moon." I mutter quietly and I sigh, lifting my head to look at Dan.  
"I love you Daniel." I say and he smiles.  
"I love you too Gavino." He says.  
"Wow no wonder people think we're gay." He adds and I chuckle again as we stand up.  
"I got you a present, something to add to your chain so you have a piece of me here when I leave." He says handing me a box. I open it and see a beautiful black anchor charm and engraved in the middle of it in silver writing is 'B'. A smile spreads across my face and I put it on my chain.  
"B, this is amazing." I mutter and he grins, holding out a chain with a matching one on.  
"Just so you remember me in big old America. I also got one for Gracie but don't give it to her yet, wait until she's upset or something, so I can make her happy even when I'm not here with her." He says handing me another box and I put it in my bedside table draw before I pull him into a hug.

"Hey Gavver, mum said we should leave soon if Dan wants to catch that flight." Geoff says from the door before adding "You alright, Gavvo?" He asks concerned and I nod.  
"Just don't want Dan to leave." I say and he pulls me into a hug.  
"It sucks, I know." He says and I sigh.

We put Dans suitcase in the boot of the car whilst he says bye to Laura, Mark and Grace. Dan, Geoff, Ryan, Jack, Ray, Michael and myself climb into Geoffs mums car, which she let him borrow, and then we're driving to the airport. I'm sat in the middle of Dan and Ryan, Geoff and Jack in the front and Michael and Ray in the back. The drive is silent and when we get to the airport I suddenly realise that this is it. We walk Dan as far as we can and when we can't go any further we stop. Dan says bye to everyone before he turns to me. I take a shaky breath and Dan pulls me into a hug.  
"I'm gonna miss you so fucking much B." I whisper into his neck and he squeezes me tighter.  
"I'm gonna miss you Gavino." I move my head slightly and whisper in his ear.  
"Promise me one thing."

"Anything Gav." He whispers.  
"Promise me that when you're deployed you will stay safe. Promise me that you'll come back and you'll be okay." I whisper as a few tears fall down my cheeks.  
"I promise Gav. I'm gonna be fine." He whispers as he squeezes me tighter again.  
"Please come back soon." I mumble and he pulls away slightly, smiling.  
"I'll be back before you know it." He says and I sigh when I hear an announcement letting us know Dan has 15 minutes to board his plane. Dan kisses the side of my head before he pulls away slightly and I grab the anchor charm on my chain.  
"I love you Gav." He says and I give him a sad smile.  
"I love you too B." I mumble.  
"I'll call you just before I go on deployment yeah?" He offers and I nod.  
"And every day before and after." I joke and he smiles.  
"So nothing new?" I shake my head and Dan smiles at me one more time while I just stare at his face, trying to commit every detail to memory. Before I know it Dan is turning around and walking away and I watch him. Watching my only good thing leave me in a similar way to how I left him over a month ago. I feel a hand on my shoulder and know it's Geoff.  
"He'll be okay Gav." He says and I sigh as Dan disappears from view, being swallowed by the crowd of people.  
"You ready to go?" He asks and I take a shaky breath before nodding and letting Geoff lead me back to the car.

I sit in the front next to Geoff on the way home and I can feel everyone's eyes burning into the back of my head but I just rest my head on the window and watch the world go by, driving further and further away from the one person that I wish I could stay with forever. We get home and Geoff looks at me.  
"You gonna hang out?" He asks me and I shake my head, not saying anything and instead walking straight up to my room. I take a deep breath the second I get to my room and stand in the middle of the room, facing the window and grasping the charms on my chain.

Michael's POV

We all grab a drink before we go up to Geoff's room and when we reach the top of the stairs I look into Gavin's room to see him standing and staring out the window.  
"He's gonna be okay." Geoff tells us and we nod, walking into Geoff's room. We hang out and play video games for a few hours before we decide we should probably head home and see our families. We leave Geoff's room and once again find ourselves outside Gavin's room. He's sat on his window bench staring outside at the darkening sky. Geoff grabs my arm to stop me going downstairs with the others and I frown at him in confusion.  
"Listen, I know you're in love with him." He says and I frown, how the fuck did he find out?  
"How-?" I'm cut off by Geoff.  
"It's so fucking obvious dude. You're so transparent. You were jealous of Scott and anyone Gavin danced with at our party and you stare at him like he's the most amazing person and every opportunity you get you look at him and when you were talking you would find any excuse to touch him and you were so jealous of Dan and kept shooting daggers at him. Oh, and Ray told me." He says and I sigh.  
"Alright fine. Wait. Does Gavin know?" I ask and Geoff chuckles slightly.  
"Gavin? The most oblivious human being ever to be born? Of course he doesn't know." He says and I nod.  
"Okay so what's your point?" I ask, blushing deeply because yeah I'm in love with Gavin but Geoff is his brother and this is awkward.  
"My point is, Gavin's gonna be a mess, he thinks Dan is the only good thing in his life and he's just lost him. We need to show him that he has more than just Dan. And that starts with you." He says and I widen my eyes.  
"You're saying I should tell him?" I ask and he nods. Fuck.  
"How the fuck am I gonna do that?" Geoff shrugs.  
"I don't know, but figure it out quick cause now is the perfect time to tell him." Geoff says before dragging me over to Gavin's room. He knocks softly on Gavin's door then sprints downstairs, leaving me standing in Gavin's doorway trying to figure out how the fuck I'm gonna tell him. Gavin looks over at me before looking back out the window, not saying anything but I see him take a deep breath.  
"Can I come in?" I ask softly and he shrugs.  
"Sure." He mutters and I walk over to him slowly and sit in his desk chair which is next to the window seat he's sat on. I'm sat so I'm facing him and frown when I see the tear stains on his face. His knees are pulled up to his chest and his arms are wrapped around them.  
"Gav, are you okay?" I ask and he takes another deep breath, still staring at the sky. He shakes his head and I get the impression if he talks he's gonna start crying again.  
"What do you want, Micool?" He asks, sounding defeated and I bite my lip. I haven't heard him say my name in a while.  
"I'm sorry Gav." I decide I should probably apologise first, for ignoring him, and then maybe if he forgives me I can work my way up to telling him I love him. Gavin doesn't say anything for a few seconds, but eventually he turns to look at me.

Gavin's POV

I turn to look at Michael and suddenly I have a very strong urge to forgive him.  
"Why?" I ask quietly and he frowns.  
"Why what?" He asks.  
"Why weren't you talking to me?" I add. Michael sighs before looking me in the eyes.  
"I just- I needed to sort some stuff out and you were distracting." He says and I frown in confusion.  
"Distracting? Yet you could still talk to Ray?" I ask; if he's lying to me then I'm gonna be pissed.  
"Ray doesn't distract me like you do." He says and I sigh, looking back out the window. It's pretty dark now and I can see the stars start to appear.  
"Didn't have to be such an ass." I mutter and I can feel Michaels eyes burning into the side of my face.  
"I know. I'm sorry."

"Doesn't explain why you were so rude to Dan." I say, turning back to look at Michael and he bites his lip.  
"I'm sorry about that too. I don't know why I was such an ass to him." He's lying, I can see it in his eyes.  
"Yes you do." I mumble and he sighs.  
"I guess I was just- I don't know, I was jealous or something." He blushes slightly and I raise an eyebrow.  
"Why?"

"Cause you and Dan are so close and I've never really been that close with someone and I was kind of hoping I could be that close with you but you have Dan and so I guess I was just jealous that you're close with Dan and not me and it sounds really fucking dumb now that I'm saying this out loud." He rambles.  
"I can be close with more than one person Micool. Dan and I have been best friends since we were in nappies, but that doesn't mean I can't have other friends that I'm close to. If anything we were closer this week cause I felt like shit because you were ignoring me and I didn't know why so technically it's your fault." I mumble, turning to look at the stars again. I search for the brightest stars in the sky whilst Michael stays silent, probably trying to think of something to say.  
"Gav, I'm sorry I ignored you and I'm sorry I didn't tell you why and I'm sorry I made you feel like shit but I've hated not talking to you and I kind of really miss you." Michael says and I bite my lip and look at him again. His curly hair is messy and looks soft and his brown eyes are shining with desperation and his freckles are showing and he looks so fucking adorable and hot at the same time and I can't stay mad at him.  
"I forgive you." Michaels eyes widen slightly and a small unsure smile spreads across his lips.  
"You do?" He asks and I nod.  
"Yeah, I mean I can't stay mad at you, no matter how hard I try." I say and Michael grins before leaning forwards and wrapping his arms around me and I lower my legs so we can hug properly. Michael pulls away and leans back in the desk chair and I go back to looking out the window.

Michaels POV

Gavin looks back out the window and I smile as I watch him looking outside, his eyes scanning the sky for something. He looks incredible in the moonlight and his eyes are sparkling.  
"What you looking for?" I ask, watching him closely. Gavin shrugs one shoulder, still looking at the sky.  
"Just something my mum used to tell me." He says and I stay quiet so he can continue, but shuffle the chair so I'm next to his torso instead of his legs and feet.  
"When my granddad died she said I'd see him again and that he's waiting on the other side of the stars, and that whenever there's a star that's brighter than the rest it's because it's him letting me know he's there." He says and I watch his face carefully, feeling so much love for him that it almost hurts.  
"I'm scared, Micool. I don't want to only see Dan when I look at the stars." He says and I sigh, resting my hand on top of his.  
"Dan will be fine, Gav. I really mean it. Dan is strong and smart and he will come home." I say and Gavin turns to look at me.  
"Thank you, boi." He says and I grin because he's calling me boi again.  
"No problem Gavvy. Anything for you, boi." I say and he smiles. It's now that I realize how close we are and Gavins eyes are so fucking pretty and I could stare at them all fucking day.  
"Are you, er, are you and Dan together?" I ask and Gavin smiles slightly.  
"Nah, just really close. It would be so much easier if we were though." He sighs and I frown.  
"How about you and Scott?" I ask, slightly bitter.  
"That was, er- That's nothing." Gavin says and I notice he bites his lip and frown.  
"You sure?" I ask and he nods.  
"Good." I say and I smile while Gavin frowns slightly.  
"Why is that good?" Gavin asks just as his bedroom door opens.  
"Hey just thought-" Geoff pauses when he see's I'm still here and then his gaze flicks down to my hand on Gavins before his eyes meet mine. I give him a look to tell him I haven't told him yet and he nods.  
"Right well, sorry for interrupting whatever's going on here but just thought I'd let y'all know it's midnight." He says before walking down the hall and I turn back to Gavin.

"I should probably go home." I mutter and Gavin bites his bottom lip.  
"You can stay if you want." He says and I think about it for a second. I would love to but if I do I'll have to sleep with Gavin and that's gonna be amazing cause I get to be close to him but it's gonna drive me crazy.  
"Erm, yeah, okay. You sure?" I ask and he nods. I figure since he's been sleeping with Dan for the past week he doesn't really feel like sleeping alone so I agree.  
"Okay boi." I say and he smiles slightly before yawning.  
"You tired?" I ask and he nods, pulling his sleeves down to hide his hands.  
"Sleepy." He mutters and I roll my eyes, standing up.  
"Bed time?" I ask and he nods. He stands up and pulls off his jumper and t-shirt and I pull mine off too but pause because I don't know how much Gavin is going to take off. Gavin pulls his jeans off and I realise I haven't seen his body before and he looks fucking amazing. We both climb into bed and I'm very aware of the fact that we're both only wearing boxers and Ray would have a fucking field day if he knew. We lie side by side in silence, Gavin facing the wall and I'm lying on my back.

"Micool?" Gavin mumbles after 5 minutes of silence and I turn my head towards him, looking at the back of his head.  
"Yeah Gavvy?" I ask softly and I notice he takes a deep breath before pausing.  
"Never mind." He mutters and I frown. What did he want to tell me and why can't he? I just turn my back to him again and fall asleep to the sound of his deep breathing.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING - some deep shit is covered in this chapter so if reading about rape and child abuse and stuff upsets you then don't read this! (I don't go into any detail but it still might upset you.) Also this story took a darker turn than I first thought when I started writing it but I think it's good so I'm hoping y'all do too <3
> 
> Honestly though if you think you're gonna be distressed reading this then don't and if you need to talk about anything ever then message me <3

Gavins POV

When I wake up the first thing I notice is Michael's arm thrown over my waist and his chest pressed against my back and how much I love this feeling. I hear my phone buzz and carefully move so I don't wake Michael up and climb off my bed. I grab my phone and see a text from Scott. I completely forgot about him.

Scott -

Hey since your friend went home do you wanna go out today? x

Me -

I kind of just wanted to chill with Geoff today tbh, also Michael stayed here last night so I should probably hang with him too

Scott -

I thought you weren't talking to Michael?

Me -

We weren't but after Dan left yesterday he cheered me up so we are now

Scott -

How about we meet up for an hour or so??

I don't know why I'm explaining myself to him and I really don't want to see him but I need to tell him that I don't want to go out with him at some point and the sooner I do the better. I sigh and lock my phone without replying and go to Geoffs room. His door is open and he's sat up in bed typing on his phone.  
"Geoff?" I ask quietly, not wanting to interrupt. He looks up at me and smiles, locking his phone and motioning for me to sit opposite him.  
"Whats up Gavvo?" He asks and I sit down just as his phone pings. I glance at the screen and see Ray's name before looking back up at Geoff.  
"I need help." I say.  
"With?" He asks and I bite my lip.  
"I er, I got a message from Scott and he said he want's to go out but I really don't want to but I don't know how to tell him." I say and Geoff rolls his eyes.  
"Gav you're thinking way too into it. Just tell him you're not into him. If he's a decent person he'll get it." Geoff says and I frown.  
"But how can I just tell him that I'm not into him? It's a bit deep init?" I ask and Geoff chuckles.  
"You know when you're really blunt with people cause you're British and an asshole?" He asks and I chuckle.  
"I guess, yeah?" I ask, confused as to where this is going.  
"Just tell him Gavver." Geoff says softly and I bite my lip again.  
"Okay, I can do that. Probably." I say and he smiles.  
"Why don't you meet him in the park or something, then you can walk away if it gets awkward." Geoff suggests.  
"Can I not do it here? At least then you're here in case I need you?" I ask and Geoff smiles.  
"It will be fine Gavvo, if you do it at the park you have the whole walk there to calm yourself down and you'll be in public so nothing will happen." He says and I nod.

I walk back into my room and see Michael is awake and on his phone.  
"Mornin." I mumble as I walk over to my wardrobe and pull on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans.  
"Hey." Michael says and his early morning voice is really kind of hot and I decide that I really need to talk to Scott as soon as possible. I notice Michael is watching me and I look up at him.  
"I gotta go out real quick but you can stay here if you want." I say, watching as Michael runs a hand through his hair, making his bed-hair stick up in all different angles.  
"Okay." He mumbles before lying back down and burying his face in the pillow I was sleeping on and I bite my lip because when he rolled over the duvet uncovered his back and I can see all of his back muscles and all I want to do is run my hands down his back and feel every curve of his body. I text Scott to tell him to meet me in the park and pull on my converse before telling Laura I'll be back soon and leaving the house.

The walk to the local park is only 10 minutes long and when I get there I see Scott sitting on a bench. I walk over and sit down and he smiles at me.  
"Hey Gavvy." He says and I bite my lip.  
"Don't call me that. Listen Scott, I need to talk to you." I say and he nods, letting me go on.  
"I don't really think we're gonna work out." I say, not looking at him.  
"I think we will." He says, his voice sounds blank of emotion and it creeps me out slightly.  
"I'm not into you in that way Scott." I say and he shakes his head, gripping my wrist and squeezing.  
"But you are into Michael in that way." He says and I frown at him, leaning away slightly.  
"What are you talking about?" I ask and he smirks.  
"You care about Michael, which means you will stay with me. Because you don't want anything to happen to him." He says and I raise an eyebrow.  
"Are you threatening Micool? Cause he could kick your ass." I say and he grins.  
"Would you rather I showed you what I can do?" He pulls me closer to him, his grip tightening on my wrist and I'm sure I'm going to have a bruise. He pulls me up off of the bench and grins.  
"Come with me yeah?" He asks and I bite my lip, shaking my head, and seriously regret leaving my phone at home.  
"For Michael." Scott whispers in my ear before he leads me to a house I assume is his and drags me up to a room, his grip on my wrist never loosening and his other hand around my waist, gripping my hip, so to anyone we walk past we just look like a couple. I can't stop thinking about how I wish I hadn't listened to Geoff; I should have asked him to come round mine instead. He closes the door behind us and pushes me onto his bed.  
"Gav are you still sure we won't work out? Cause I'm about to prove just how great we could be." He whispers in my ear and I cringe, squeezing my eyes shut as he kisses my cheek and runs his hands under my shirt.

Geoffs POV

Gavin went out about an hour ago to break up with Scott, he should be back by now. Michael and I are in the front room playing video games chatting, he told me about what happened last night and I'm telling him about the jokes me and Ray were saying this morning about Gavin and Michael and how Gavin went out to break up with Scott. I hear the front door open and am about to shout hello when I hear footsteps as Gavin sprints upstairs. Michael and I look at each other frowning and we both stand up when Gavins bedroom door slams shut. Michael follows me upstairs and I knock on Gavins door.  
"You alright Gavver?" I ask, trying the handle and frown deeper when I realise it's locked.  
"Gav?" I ask again, quickly become filled with concern. When Gavin still hasn't answered I bite my lip.  
"Gavin what happened?" I ask, using his whole name for once. I hear very quiet muffled sniffling and I look at Michael, who looks just as worried as I do.  
"C'mon, lets leave him for a bit, he'll come down when he wants to." I say and he nods, walking downstairs.  
"We'll be downstairs if you wanna come hang." I say through the door before following Michael.

Gavins POV

I hear Geoff outside the door but I can't face him. How am I gonna tell him what happened? What will he think? What will Michael think? I feel as if I should blame Michael but it's not his fault, it's mine. I come to the conclusion they can never find out. No one can. I decide to just lie on my bed for the rest of the day, ignoring the times Geoff has tried to talk to me, crying until I run out of tears and then just lying in silence, quite the contrast to what was going on this morning when I woke up happy. I sigh and have a nap, having a terrifying dream where I relive everything Scott did.

Geoffs POV

I thought Gavin would have come down at some point, especially as he hasn't eaten today, and every time I've gone to check on him he hasn't answered. At around 4pm Gavins phone, which he left on the kitchen counter, rings and I pick it up to see its Dan calling.  
"Hey Dan, Gavin isn't here right now but I actually need to talk to you." I say into the phone, putting it on speaker so Michael and the other guys, who came round a few hours ago to play video games, can hear, as me and Michael filled them in on everything that's happened so far.  
"Yeah go for it dude, whats up?" His British accent is as strong as Gavins and it makes me miss his voice slightly and worry more about him.  
"Firstly you're on speaker and all the guys are here too." I say.  
"Hey lads." Dan says and they all say hi back.  
"So what's going on?" He asks.  
"Well, Gavin went out earlier to break up with Scott but when he came home he locked himself in his room and hasn't said a word or left his room and it's been like 6 hours." I say and I hear Dan sigh.  
"I swear that boy will be the death of me." He mutters and I bite my lip, this doesn't sound good.  
"He's only done this twice before. He did it when his parents and brother died, and one other time. When something big happens that he doesn't know how to cope with he shuts down, locks himself in his room and doesn't talk to anyone." He says sadly and I frown.  
"When was the other time?" I ask and he pauses.  
"He- he can never find out you know, I'm the only one that knows and if he finds out I told you it will break him." Dan says and I look up at the guys who nod.  
"We won't say a word." I promise.  
"Alright well when Gavin was around 13 his uncle started sexually abusing him and it went on for about a year and during that year he was proper reserved and closed off and then on his dads birthday they had a party and invited all their family and Gav wouldn't leave his room for about a week and a half after the party and eventually I convinced him to talk to me and he told me his uncle raped him. Once he told me about it he refused to talk about it again but he was in his room for a long time and he didn't eat for ages so whatever is wrong with him you need to help him fast because he had to go to hospital he didn't eat for so long." Dan says and we're sat in a shocked silence.  
"Fucking hell." Ryan mumbles.  
"Geoff go tell him I'm on the phone and see if he'll talk to me. Please." He sounds desperate and I nod before remembering he can't see me.  
"Yeah. Okay." I grab the phone and me and the guys all walk nervously upstairs and I knock on his door.  
"Gavver, Dan's on the phone." I say softly and there's a pause before I hear soft footsteps and his door unlock. He opens his door slightly, takes the phone from me and then shuts and locks it again and I frown sadly. His eyes are red and puffy but there are no tears falling and I get the impression that he cried until he couldn't cry anymore. I figure if there's anything serious with Gavin then Dan will tell me when he hangs up with Gavin so me and the guys go downstairs and wait.

Dans POV

Hearing Gavin cry is breaking my heart. The second he takes the phone I hear him lock his door again and I sigh.  
"Gavvy what's wrong B?" I ask and I pray he doesn't shut me out.  
"B I can't..." He chokes out and it's been a while since I've heard him this broken.  
"What happened B?" I ask again.  
"I didn't want to Dan but he wouldn't let me go and it happened again and I was begging him not to. Why did it happen again? Why did it have to be me again?" He whimpers and my eyes widen.  
"Gavin did Scott do something?" I ask but I hear him flinch at his name and I immediately know that I'm right.  
"Gavvy?" I ask and he chokes out a sob.  
"I didn't want to Dan. He- I- It was supposed to be an easy break up. Geoff said it would be fine. It wasn't fine." He says and I frown.  
"Gav just answer me yes or no, okay? Did he rape you?" I ask and Gavin chokes out a sob again.  
"Yes." He mumbles before sobbing again and I sigh.  
"Gavvy I need to tell Geoff so he can help you, is that okay?" I ask and he sobs out a quiet yes.  
"Okay B, you're gonna be okay, I'm sorry I can't be there, but I will make sure Geoff looks after you. I love you Gavin. I love you so much." I say before hanging up and calling Geoff immediately.

Geoffs POV

Around 15 minutes after we left Gavin my phone rings and I answer it as soon as I see Dans name, putting it on speaker.  
"Hey what happened? Are you okay for it to be speaker phone again or-" Dan cuts me off.  
"Dude I don't give a fuck you need to go talk to Gav. And I mean like right now." He says, his voice panicked and I frown.  
"Why, what happened?" I ask and Dan sighs.  
"Well to be honest he isn't that happy with you but he's got worse shit to deal with now either you go talk to him right now or you go beat Scott to death because I'm in England and I can't." He says.  
"What did Scott do?" I ask, knowing why Gavin is mad at me. I told him to meet at the park instead of making Scott come round here.  
"Geoff, just go and make sure Gavin's okay. Please." He says and I can feel my blood boil.  
"Dan what did Scott do to Gavin?" Michael asks and I can tell he's trying to stay calm but his hands are shaking with anger.  
"He raped him. Now for fucks sake go and make sure he is okay before I have to fly back out there and kick all of your asses." He says and even though I knew deep down what happened, hearing Dan say that has flipped a switch.  
"Sorry, yeah I'm going, I'll let you know what happens and if he's okay." I say before hanging up and the second I do Michael stands up.  
"Where are you going?" I ask as he walks towards the front door.  
"Out." He says, his voice full of hatred and the guys and I look at each other. We all know he's gone to beat the shit out of Scott and none of us stop him because in all honesty Scott deserves it and I don't want to be the one to stop Michael. Instead of following Michael, I walk upstairs and Ray, Jack and Ryan go and wait in the front room.

"Gavver?" I call softly through the door and I can hear him sobbing. I don't hear him move but when I try the door handle it's unlocked. I open the door and see Gavin sat on his window seat, hugging a pillow close to his chest, his knees pulled up too, and tears streaming down his face. He turns to look at me and my heart shatters at the look on my brothers face.  
"Gav I'm so sorry." I say, tears welling in my eyes as I walk over to Gavin. I sit at the other end of his window seat and sigh.  
"I'm so sorry Gavver, and I get that you probably hate me a lot right now because it was my idea and if you want me to leave I will but I'm worried about you and Dan is too and Ray and Michael and Ryan and Jack are too and we all love you very much and I promise I will never let that happen again." I say.  
"You said it would be fine. It wasn't fine." He chokes and I feel a tear fall down my cheek.  
"I know Gavvo, and I am so sorry." I say and he frowns.  
"I don't hate you." He says and I look at him.  
"You should." I say and he shakes his head.  
"You didn't know what would happen. It was my fault because I didn't stop him." He says before he freezes and his eyes start filling with tears again. I can tell he's re-living it.  
"Gav do you want me to call someone?" I ask and he shakes his head.  
"Don't tell anyone. Please." He pleads and I bite my lip.  
"Gav, the guys know. They heard the phone call with Dan." I say and his eyes widen slightly before he sighs and looks out the window.  
"Where are they?" He asks.  
"Ray, Ryan and Jack are downstairs in the front room, and Michael left." I say and Gavin frowns, looking hurt.  
"He went to see Scott." I add and Gavin closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.  
"Do they hate me?" He asks and I frown.  
"No Gav of course they don't hate you. They love you and they're all very worried about you." I say and he sighs, resting his head against the wall he's leaning on. We sit in silence for around 10 minutes when I hear the front door open, indicating Michaels back. He was only gone for 25 minutes but he can do a lot of damage in that time. Gavin looks at me with wide eyes and I nod in understanding.  
"I'll go make sure he's okay." I say and he nods.  
"Geoff." He says as I get to the door.  
"Yeah buddy?" I ask.  
"Can you tell him to come up here please? But not yet, I want to have a shower." He says and I assume he feels horrible because of what Scott did.  
"Of course Gavvo." I say and he bites his lip, still hugging the pillow and looking out the window.

I go downstairs and find the guys in the kitchen, Michael sat on a counter top holding an ice pack to his jaw whilst telling the guys what happened, blood splattered across his t-shirt and I'm amazed he didn't get arrested on the way back here. Jack is wrapping a bandage around Michaels right hand and I assume he busted his knuckles punching Scott. "Please tell me he's worse off than you." I say, trying to make the tense atmosphere disappear.  
"I mean, I'm still conscious so yeah." He says and I smile slightly.  
"Thanks Michael." I say and he shrugs. I know Gavin means as much to Michael as he does to me and I am glad that Gavin fell in love with a guy willing to murder anyone that hurts him.  
"He's not actually dead is he?" I ask and Michael shrugs again.  
"We won't know until he wakes up." He says.  
"If he wakes up." Ryan adds and Michael rolls his eyes.  
"I made sure I didn't kill him." He says before adding, "Although I must admit stopping myself from doing so was a lot harder than I thought it would be."

"So how's Gav?" Ryan asks and I bite my lip as everyone's attention has now turned to me.  
"He didn't want you to know, but he knows that you do. He doesn't know we know about his uncle though and we need to keep it that way. He doesn't want anyone else to know about this so don't say anything to anyone, and he asked if you all hate him now." I explain then noticing their concerned faces I add, "I told him you don't. And he actually spoke to me which is a good thing. I think that call with Dan really helped. He's having a shower right now." I say and they nod.  
"Is he gonna stay upstairs?" Ray asks. I shrug.  
"Probably. But Michael, he wants to talk to you." I say and he frowns.  
"Why me?" He asks and we all roll our eyes.  
"Cause he loves you dumb ass, go talk to him." Jack says, pulling Michael off of the counter top and shoving him towards the door, telling him to keep the ice pack on his jaw. We all go and sit in the front room, figuring they're gonna be upstairs for a while.

Michaels POV

I walk upstairs and see Gavin stood in his room in only his boxers with his back to me. His wet hair is dripping and I follow a water droplet as it runs down his back. I notice bruises on his arm and waist and then I realise this is kind of creepy so I knock on the door. Gavin turns around and frowns at me before sitting on his window seat, similar to last night.  
"You alright, boi? Geoff said to come up." I say and I can't stop thinking about the dark bruises on his body or what Scott said to me when I went round. Apparently the only reason Gavin went with Scott was so I wouldn't get hurt. Gavin grips the pillow that was on the window seat and hugs it to his chest and I notice it's the one I slept on. I sit on his desk chair again and his eyes travel from my jaw to my blood splattered t-shirt and his eyes widen slightly.  
"Are you okay?" He asks, gingerly taking the ice pack from my hand and holding it to my jaw and I'm glad we're sitting close enough I can see the green swirls in his eyes.  
"I'm fine Gav." I say and he bites his lip and I realise they have been bitten a lot and I wonder if that was Gavins way of not crying when Scott was abusing him. I then realise I've been staring at his lips for a while and probably shouldn't.

"Micool, why did you go to see him?" I notice the way his voice shakes and he avoids saying Scotts name.  
"Because he hurt you. I wasn't gonna let him hurt you and get away with it." I say and he bites his lip again.  
"Gav why were you at Scotts?" I ask and he flinches at the name.  
"He- I, he wouldn't let go." He mumbles and I frown sadly at him.  
"Gav, it's not your fault, you know that right?" I ask and he lowers his gaze to me chest, so he's no longer looking me in the eyes but he's still holding the ice pack to my jaw.  
"Gav. I mean it." I say, and when he still doesn't look back up at me I rest my hand on top of his hand but he flinches and I immediately put my hand back in my lap and frown. "Gav I get why you don't want to be touched, but I will never hurt you. I promise." I say softly and he breathes in deeply before looking into my eyes again.  
"I know." He says and I can't help but smile slightly because this beautiful human being in front of me that has been through so much has decided that even though he has no reason to he trusts me.  
"Thank you." I smile. Gavin bites his lip and I notice his gaze lingers on my lips for a while and I get the feeling that even though Gavin has been through a lot today I need to tell him how I feel.

"Micool?" Gavin mumbles.  
"Yeah boi?" I ask softly.  
"How bad did you hurt him?" He asks, eyeing the bandage Jack wrapped around my knuckles and I shrug.  
"Not sure, he was unconscious when I left." I say and Gavin breathes in deeply.  
"Did he say anything?" He asks and I decide I won't tell him what Scott said. It was all just to piss me off anyway, saying that he slept with Gavin before I did and how beautiful Gavin is and how he knows I'm in love with him but how he got to Gavin first and that he will do it again and again until Gavin stays with him and he called Gavin a whore a few times.  
"Nothing you need to worry about, boi." I say and he frowns.  
"What did he say Micool?" He asks and I sigh.  
"Gavin I- He just said stuff he knew would piss me off, don't worry about it boi." Gavin frowns and I sigh again.  
"Gav please. I came up here to help you, believe me boi, you don't want to know." I say desperately, wanting to save Gavin from anymore pain or hurt. Gavin looks into my eyes for a second and I feel like he's reading my mind. Gavin finds what he was searching for but instead of pressing for answers like I know he wants to he just sighs.  
"Your ice pack isn't cold anymore." He mutters, moving his hand away from my face and throwing the ice pack onto his desk.

Gavin looks at my jaw for a second before reaching up and running his finger along where I assume the bruise is, a look of concern crossing his face. I reach up slowly and place my hand over his, stopping his hand from moving.  
"Gav, I'm fine boi. I'll be okay, it's just a bruise." I say, suddenly remembering the bruises all over his body. I can see Gavin is nervous with being touched because of what happened but I want to prove to him I wont hurt him. I lower his hand from my jaw and look at the bruise on his arm. I run my finger over it gently like he did to my jaw and then I slowly bring his hand up and press a kiss to his wrist. Gavin watches as I lower his hand again so I'm holding his hand and our hands are resting on my knee and he takes a shaky breath in.  
"Are you okay?" I ask and he shakes his head.  
"Because of what I did?" I ask, unsure if he means I upset him or if it was just Scott. He shakes his head again.  
"Am I helping?" I ask and he nods slowly. I smile slightly and rub the back of his hand with my thumb.  
"Micool?" He asks and I look up from our hands to his eyes.  
"Yeah boi?" He looks nervous.  
"Will you sit with me?" He asks and I smile.  
"Of course boi." I say and he shuffles over so his side is pressed against the window and I sit on the window seat next to him, we're both leaning back against the wall, his right hand in my left and his head is resting on my shoulder, our legs out straight in front of us.  
"Micool?" Gavin asks and I hum as a way to tell him he can continue talking as I look down at our linked hands.  
"Thank you." He says through a yawn and after a few minutes his breathing has slowed down and he's fallen asleep.  
"I love you Gavin Free." I mumble and I freeze when he moves, but he just buries himself deeper into my side and I conclude that he's doing it in his sleep.

I realise I should probably go and let Geoff and the guys know how Gavin is so I carefully pick him up bridal style and put him in his bed before throwing his duvet over him and leaving the room. As I walk into the front room the guys look up at me with small frowns on their faces.  
"Here." Geoff says, throwing a t-shirt to me and I smile as a thank you as I pull my shirt off and put on the one he gave me.  
"So how was he?" Ryan asks and I shrug as I sit on the arm chair.  
"He didn't really say much. He's asleep right now." I say and Geoff frowns.  
"He didn't say anything?" He asks and I shake my head slightly.  
"He just asked if Scott said anything when I went round there. I think he's just still in shock." I say and Geoff nods.  
"So anyway... who wants to order pizza?" Geoff asks, trying to change awkward tone and we all nod.  
"Whose up for some COD?" Ray asks and we grab controllers.

We eat pizza and play call of duty and at around 9pm Laura, Mark and Olivia come home, as they were visiting Marks parents. Geoff tells them Gavin went to bed early when they ask where he is and then they go up to bed. At around 10pm when the pizza is long gone and we're all sat watching friends reruns I hear a door upstairs open and soft footsteps coming downstairs and I immediately know it's Gavin. Geoff looks out into the hallway and smiles sadly.  
"You alright, Gavvo?" He asks and Gavin stops in the doorway. He's wearing jogging bottoms and a hoodie that I can tell it's probably Dan's because it's too big for him. He shrugs before shaking his head.  
"You gonna hang out?" Geoff asks and Gavin bites his lip before nodding and looking over at me. I'm sat on a big armchair in the corner, Ray and Jack are sat on one sofa and Geoff and Ryan are sat on the last sofa. I gesture so he knows it's okay to share my chair if he wants to and he walks over to me and sits next to me, pressed to my side as the armchair isn't that big. I wrap an arm around his shoulders and he buries himself in my side. I notice Ryan, Jack and Ray looking at Gavin sadly as he rests his head on my chest as he watches the tv, not saying a word.  
"Anyone want a drink?" Jack asks after a few minutes and we all say yeah so Geoff says he'll help him. They walk out of the room while Ryan, Ray and I continue watching friends and when they come back in I notice Gavin flinch slightly when Jacks hand touches his as he hands Gavin his drink. I suddenly feel very privileged that Gavin is allowing me to be this close to him when he doesn't even want anyone else to touch his hands. Gavin takes a sip of his drink before burying himself deep into my side again and I notice Geoff smiling at us slightly.

We stay in the front room, watching reruns of shows and chatting casually, Gavin staying silent, and at around midnight everyone starts to get tired.  
"So, should we do something?" Jack asks, looking at Gavin concerned. Gavin is sleeping with his head buried into my chest, my arms around him protectively.  
"He doesn't wan't anyone to know." Geoff mumbles sadly and I frown.  
"We could always beat Scott up again." Ryan suggests and we chuckle quietly.  
"I think we should let him recover a little bit first. I feel like one hit and he'd die after what Michael did to him." Ray says and I shrug.  
"Yeah well..." I mutter and Jack rolls his eyes.

"So we're not gonna do anything?" Ray asks and Geoff nods.  
"We can't force him to talk about it or tell people if he doesn't want anyone to know. All we can do is make sure he's okay." He says and we all agree.  
"Alright, leeeeets sleep." Ray whispers and we chuckle before we all lie down where we are drift off one by one. I shift slightly so Gavin is more on my chest than in my side and bury my face in his hair, letting sleep consume me.


	12. Chapter 12

I'm woken up by a shuffling next to me and I open my eyes to see Gavin still asleep, tears streaming down his face and he's moving around restlessly, obviously having a nightmare. I hold him close to my chest, unsure of what to do, and after a few minutes his eyes fly open and he shoots up, looking around and breathing heavy.  
"Gav?" I whisper and he jumps, looking at me. His eyes full of pain and fear.  
"Gav it's okay. I'm here. I got you." I say, pulling him slowly to my chest and I notice he's shaking. He buries his face in my chest and I run my fingers through his hair, trying to relax him.  
"You're safe now. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." I whisper in his ear and eventually he stops crying. He looks up at me and I wipe his tears away with my thumb before cupping his cheek.  
"Go back to sleep boi, I got you, you're okay." I whisper, not wanting to wake the guys. Gavin nods before he buries himself back into my side.  
"Shh, go to sleep." I whisper and I kiss the top of his head before pulling him as close to me as possible. Gavin falls asleep within a few minutes, but I don't fall asleep again properly just in case Gavin has another bad dream.

It's around 7am when Geoff wakes up.  
"Mornin." I whisper and he looks at the clock, rubbing his eye, then looks at me and frowns.  
"The fuck you awake this early for?" He mumbles.  
"Gav had a nightmare and it woke me up and I just didn't go back to sleep." I say and Geoff nods, looking at Gavin, whose face is buried in my neck, his nose pressed against my neck and his lips near my collar bone and I can feel his calm breathing blow across my skin and I wish I could sleep like this every night.  
"Cause you were worried about him?" Geoff asks as if it isn't obvious.  
"Course I am. He woke up shaking. It didn't take too long to calm him down though, thank fuck." I say and Geoff smiles sadly.  
"It's weird. I've never seen anyone more in love than you two are and yet you haven't even told each other. I mean, you are never like this, not even with Ray, and you are so protective over Gav. And he wont let anyone apart from you touch him anymore, he even flinched when Jack gave him his drink yesterday." He says and I frown slightly.  
"Do you have a point?" I ask and Geoff shrugs.  
"I just don't see how you two aren't together yet. I mean you're literally together and everyone knows apart from the two of you. Take right now for example. If anyone walked in here whether they knew you two or not they would absolutely think you were a couple, the way Gav wanted to talk to you yesterday, the way he only lets you touch him, the way you are jealous of anyone who goes within 10 foot of Gavin and the way you look at each other when you think no one's looking, you're so fucking in love. It's almost a shame that you haven't told each other yet." He says and I sigh.  
"I can hardly tell him now can I? After what happened to him yesterday I can't just tell him I love him." I say and Geoff raises an eyebrow.  
"Why not? He needs to know now more than ever that we're here for him and that we love him." Geoff says and I bite my lip. He has a point, I'm just so fucking terrified to tell him. Geoff smirks smugly at me and I glare at him.

The guys wake up eventually and decide to go and get breakfast whilst I tell them I'll wait for Gavin to wake up. A few minutes after the guys leave the room Gavin shoots up and looks around, rubbing his sleepy eyes.  
"Mornin." I mumble and he looks at me as he yawns and he's so cute in the morning.  
"I'm sorry I woke you up last night." He says in his morning voice and I smile.  
"Don't worry Gavver, how are you?" I ask and he shrugs.  
"Okay well the guys are cooking pancakes, you want some?" I ask and he shrugs again as he stands up and we both walk into the kitchen.  
"Morning Gav, you want pancakes?" Geoff asks as I grab some off the stack and put them on my plate. Gavin pulls his sleeves over his hands and shrugs. He looks so small in that hoodie and I just want to wrap him up in a hug and never let go.  
"I'm gonna shower." He mumbles before leaving the room and we all look at each other confused.  
"He's gotta be hungry right? He didn't eat yesterday." Ryan says, his protective instinct showing. Geoff just sighs.  
"Michael when he gets out the shower can you try and convince him to eat something?" He sounds so broken and I feel like it's because he feels so helpless, like because I'm the only one Gavin's letting be close to him Geoff feels like he can't help his brother. I nod.  
"Yeah."

A few minutes later we hear the shower turn off and I wait a minute before going upstairs. When I get to Gavin's room I see him standing in his boxers, the places on his body that are bruised from Scott are also bright red and it looks like he tried to scrub the bruises off.  
"Gav." I mutter, walking towards him slowly and he turns around, tears streaming from his broken eyes.  
"You're okay now my boi." I mumble as I reach him and I carefully place my hands on his naked hips which are still bright red. I gently stroke my hands over his bruises, staring down at his body, whilst Gavin watches me, letting the tears fall.  
"Gavin you need to stop hurting yourself like this boi." I whisper softly and he whimpers. I run my hand from his hip up his side then down his arm and to his bruised wrist before bringing his wrist up and kissing the bruise carefully. I feel goosebumps appear under my lips and suppress a smile, loving that I have this effect on him.  
"Gav I know you don't feel normal right now but this isn't going to help." I whisper and suddenly his face is pressed into my neck and his arms are around my waist.  
"I don't know what to do." He whimpers and I frown.  
"I've got you. You don't have to do anything. I hate to see you like this my boi. I love you too much to see you hurt, but you're going to be okay because I won't let anything happen to you again. I promise as long as I'm here you will be okay." I whisper into his ear and I suddenly realise that I just told him I love him but I kind of hope he didn't pick up on that as this isn't really how I wanted him to find out.  
"I see his face every time I close my eyes Micool." He whimpers and I sigh.

I lead him over to his bed and sit him on the edge of it before kneeling in front of him. I rest my hands on his thighs and look into his eyes.  
"Tell me about it Gav. Talk to me." I say softly and he moves his hands to rest on mine.  
"I can't get the feeling of his hands on me out of my head." He whimpers and I squeeze his thighs gently before running my hands over his bruises again, feeling him shiver under my hands.  
"He kept whispering in my ear and I can still feel his breath on my skin." Gavin says as a tear rolls down his cheek and I move my right hand off his side to his face and cup his cheek, wiping away the tear. Gavin leans into my hand and I sigh and close the small gap between us and kiss his forehead. Gavin moves his head slightly and kisses the palm of my hand and I smile slightly, squeezing his side gently. Gavin rests his forehead against mine and sighs.  
"I feel wrong all the time Micool." He says and our mouths are so close I can feel his breath on my lips.  
"I can't get him out of my head. I feel horrible and ugly and I don't know what to do because I can't stop thinking about it and how it was my fault and I can't help but flinch when someone touches me." He whimpers and I pull back and take his face in both of my hands, cupping his cheeks.  
"Gavin Free you need to stop blaming yourself because it is not your fault and it's okay for you to not want people to touch you because it's understandable after what you've been through but if I hear you say you're ugly ever again I will have to kill you because you are the most beautiful human being I've ever seen." I say and Gavin looks into my eyes. "Clearly you've never looked in a mirror." He mumbles and I feel a blush creep up my neck. I finally allow my gaze to fall to his lips and I take a deep breath before looking back into his eyes. I remember he's only wearing boxers and he suddenly looks very nervous so I assume he has also just remembered too.  
"You are beautiful Gavin." I repeat, yet again filling with anger at the fact that Scott could do something so horrible to someone so amazing. Gavin takes a deep breath in and his gaze flickers down to my lips before moving back up to my eyes.

I slowly lean forward so our lips are almost touching.  
"I have a confession to make." I mumble.  
"Yeah?" He mutters nervously. I look down at his lips again before looking back up to his eyes, feeling a very strong urge to kiss him.  
"I'm in love with you." I mumble, deciding if I don't say it straight out I never will say it. Gavins eyes widen slightly and a small nervous smile spreads across his lips.  
"I'm in love with you too." He mumbles and I grin, closing the small gap between us and pressing our lips together. Gavins hands rest on my shoulders and I move my right hand to the back of his neck whilst my left hand falls to his side, my thumb gently stroking over the bruise there. I pull back after 10 seconds and rest our foreheads together.  
"Are you okay?" I ask and he nods, taking a deep breath.  
"What- How long- When-" Gavin stutters and I smile slightly.  
"How long have I felt this way?" I ask and he nods.  
"First day I met you." I say and he blushes slightly.  
"How long have you?" I ask and he bites his lip, his blush darkening.  
"Since Geoff first introduced us." He says and I frown.  
"I thought you were with Dan." I say and he shakes his head.  
"I thought you were with Ray." He mumbles and I chuckle slightly.  
"Nah."

"So... What do we do now?" He asks and I look into his beautiful green eyes.  
"Well you need to have some breakfast. But if you mean between us then whatever you want." I say and Gavin smiles slightly.  
"Geoffs gonna be so smug." He says and I chuckle.  
"Yeah, but we don't have to tell the guys yet if you don't want to." I say and he nods.  
"Although they all know that I love you and to be honest the only way we'd be acting different is if I kissed you in front of them." I say and Gavin blushes slightly.  
"I wouldn't mind that." He says and I grin, pecking his lips tenderly.  
"C'mon boi. You need to eat." I say gently before standing up, pulling him up with me.  
"Maybe put some clothes on first." I say and Gavin blushes deeper, pulling on some jogging bottoms. I wrap my arm around his shoulders and kiss the side of his head.  
"You don't mind the guys seeing your bruises?" I ask and he shakes his head. We walk towards his bedroom door but before we leave his room I stop walking and turn to him. "Gav, you wanna be my boyfriend?" I ask and he smiles.  
"Yeah boi." I grin and kiss the side of his head again before leading him into the kitchen, my arm staying around his shoulders.  
"There's pancakes for you Gav." Geoff says and I take my arm away from his shoulders and sit down whilst Gavin gets his food. I notice the guys look at Gavins visible bruises and Geoff looks at me, wanting confirmation that the red marks were Gavin. I nod and he sighs.  
"Where's Laura and Mark?" Gavin asks as he sits next to me, close to my side, and starts eating.  
"Dad had to work, mum took Grace to look at a Kindergarten for September." Geoff explains before adding "Don't worry, Grace is fine and we didn't tell them anything." Geoff says and Gavin nods, leaning closer to me and I throw my arm across the back of his chair.

When Gavins finished his pancakes we all go back into the front room to watch some films. We sit how we slept last night, Geoff and Ryan on one sofa, Jack and Ray on the other, me and Gavin snuggled on the armchair. Gavin buries himself into my side and I wrap my arm tight around him. Ray suggests we have a Harry Potter marathon so he sets up the first film whilst Ryan helps Jack get some snacks from the kitchen. Jack hands a bowl of popcorn to me and Gavin and I rest the bowl on my lap. I rest my head on top of Gavins as the film starts and he grabs my hand, squeezing it tight.  
"I love you." I whisper in his ear so the guys can't hear and he looks up at me and smiles slightly before burying his head into my chest again. Throughout the film I whisper to Gavin that I love him and occasionally I feed him a piece of popcorn and he squeezes my hand.  
"I kind of really want to kiss you." Gavin leans up and whispers in my ear so the guys can't hear and I look at him and smile slightly.  
"I mean, you can if you don't mind the guys knowing." I whisper back and he bites his lip and nods nervously.  
"You sure?" I ask and he nods again so I slowly lean down and kiss him softly. I pull away after a few seconds and he smiles and buries himself in my side again and looks back at the screen.  
"Well that took far too long." Ray says and I roll my eyes.  
"I'm gonna assume you sorted everything out when you were upstairs earlier." Ryan says and I nod as Gavin blushes slightly.  
"I know we've all known for literally ever but now that you two have manned up we're all happy for you." Geoff says looking more at Gavin than me and I can tell he's trying to prove to Gavin that we're all here for him, especially after what happened yesterday.  
"Yeah we're all happy for you but Harry is about to find out it was professor Quirrell not Snape so can we all be quiet for another 20 minutes and then you can tease Michael and Gavin to your hearts content." Ray says and we all chuckle before turning back to the screen and I look down at Gavin and wink before looking back at the film.


	13. Chapter 13

A few minutes before the film finishes Gavins phone buzzes and he looks at the screen before I feel him freeze.  
"Whats wrong?" I ask immediately but Gavin doesn't talk, instead he starts shaking slightly. I pull him close to my chest and try to get him to calm down and Geoff walks over and grabs Gavins phone. He reads whatever is on the screen and his face turns to a look of pure hatred.  
"Geoff?" I ask and he shows me the phone, the guys gathering round to read it too.

Unknown number -

Hey, I had a great time yesterday, I'm assuming since Michael came round yesterday you haven't changed your mind but I think I can still convince you ;) I can stop by later and we can try again x

I tighten my grip on Gavin, whose head is buried in my chest, and look up at the guys. Jacks hands are in tight fists and he's glaring at the phone, Ray looks angrier than I've ever seen him and Ryan looks like he's ready to kill.  
"He comes round here he wont live to see the sun set." Ryan mutters and Geoff agrees. The guys sit back down, Geoff keeping Gavins phone with him, in case he gets another message, and I keep my arms wrapped around Gavin.  
"You're okay." I whisper to him as the second Harry Potter starts.  
"I don't want to see him. What if he comes here? He could do it again." He whispers and I kiss the side of his head.  
"He wont do it again boi, I wont let him and neither will the guys. And if he does come round, if he's that stupid, then you stay in here and we won't let him near you." I say quietly and he nods.  
"I love you." I whisper and he leans up to kiss my cheek before turning back to the film. I notice Geoff looking at us so I look over at him. He smiles at me and mouths thank you and I smile back. We manage to get through the rest of the second film and half of the prisoner of Azkaban before there's a knock on the door.

Gavin sits up looking terrified and Geoff stands up.  
"Shout that it's open. You're gonna be fine Gav don't worry." Geoff says and Gavin nods. If any of us talk then Scott won't come in and he deserves the beating he's gonna get. I take Gavins hands and he takes a deep breath.  
"It's open." Gavin calls, his voice shaking and as we hear the front door open we all stand up. Geoff, Ryan, Jack and Ray go and stand so that when Scott opens the door he can't see them. The door to the front room opens and I feel my blood boil at the way Scott looks at Gavin. Scott looks rough; he has what I'm assuming is a broken nose, he has 2 black eyes and his jaw is very badly bruised. He's wearing a short sleeve shirt and you can see bruises all over his body and I can't help but feel very proud of myself. Gavin stands up when Scott starts to walk closer and I stand next to him. Geoff slams the door shut the second Scott is fully in the room and walks towards him slightly.  
"I'm gonna need you to not get any closer to my brother." Geoff growls and Scott doesn't stop staring at Gavin like he's picturing him naked.  
"Why not? We had so much fun yesterday." He smirks as he looks Gavin up and down and I remember Gavin doesn't have a shirt on. I instinctively step to the side so I'm in front of Gavin slightly and I glare at Scott.  
"Didn't you get the fucking message?" I spit and he smirks.  
"It was fun Michael, learning which buttons to press. Need I repeat what I said yesterday about our beautiful little brit?" Scott says and his voice is scarily calm despite the four boys behind him ready to rip his heart out. I feel Gavin's eyes on me but I keep my gaze on Scott, praying he doesn't repeat anything.  
"Didn't Michael tell you Gavin? Should I tell you instead? I won't keep things from you like he does." Scott says and I immediately squeeze my hands into fists.  
"Don't you EVER talk about him like that again." I growl and Gavin flinches behind me and the guys look kinda shocked. They've never seen me this angry before and that's saying something.  
"Need Michael to look after you Gavvy? I proved yesterday how much I can look after you." He purrs and Gavin whimpers and I look at Geoff.  
"Gav go upstairs." Geoff mumbles before he and the guys start throwing punches. I grab Gavin's hand gently and pull him out of the room and upstairs.

When we get to his room he pulls away from me shaking.  
"Gav?" I ask, immediately calming down when I see his arms are wrapped around himself. I walk towards him and he flinches when I get close so I stop walking.  
"Gav I'm sorry." I say, not really sure what I did, either he's mad I didn't tell him or he really didn't like me being angry.  
"You scared me." He mutters and I sigh.  
"Gavin I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just didn't want him to hurt you again." I say and he looks at me for a second before stepping towards me and I smile slightly and wrap my arms around him.  
"What did he say?" Gavin asks and I rest my chin on his head, shut my eyes and take in a deep breath.  
"Gav the only reason I didn't tell you is because I don't want to hurt you." I say and he buries his head in my neck.  
"Micool." He says and I sigh.  
"Alright. But remember that he was only saying it to piss me off and I love you." I say and he nods into my neck.  
"He- He said that, I should be jealous because he slept with you before I did and he said he knows I'm in love with you. He kept talking about how beautiful you are and he- he called you a whore." I say, leaving out the worst part, and Gavin looks up at me.  
"What else did he say? You're keeping something from me." He says and I really don't want to tell him because he flinched when I said Scott called him beautiful.  
"He said that he's going to do it over and over until you stay with him. But I won't let that happen to you again, okay?" I say and he shrinks into the hug, burying himself into my body.  
"I'm sorry Gavin." I say softly and he takes a deep breath which I feel blow across my neck and I shiver slightly. Gavin presses a kiss against my neck before wrapping his arms tighter around my waist.  
"It's not your fault boi." He whispers and I smile, burying my face in his hair.  
"I love you Gav." I mumble and he flinches when there's a loud bang from downstairs.

"Gav, he's gone." Geoff calls and I look down at Gavin.  
"You wanna go downstairs?" I ask and he shrugs before sighing and nodding. I take his hand and lead him out of the room and downstairs to see the guys in the kitchen. Jack is holding a bag of frozen peas to his wrist, Ray is holding some ice to his right eye, Ryan is pressing some ice to his lip and Geoff is wrapping a bandage around his right hand. I feel Gavin run his thumb over the bandage still on my hand and I squeeze his hand.  
"So, looks like you guys had fun." I say and Ryan nods.  
"Yeah, apart from the fact that he's still breathing." He mutters and I smile slightly.  
"On the bright side I doubt he'll ever come back here." Geoff says.  
"Yeah, being beaten nearly to death twice in two days really sends a message." Ray mumbles. The front door opens, making us all jump, and we look at each other, silently asking if anyone knows who it is.

"Guys?" Laura calls and we all relax.  
"In the kitchen, mum!" Geoff calls and Laura appears in the doorway, shopping bags in her hands and Grace next to her holding a lolly pop.  
"What happened to you guys?" Laura asks, dropping the groceries on the table and looking the guys over, a frown on her face. Gavin steps so that I'm in between him and Laura so that she can't see his body and I remember he's not wearing a t-shirt and does't want Laura to know what happened.  
"Nothing, we just got in a fight." Geoff explains.  
"With who?" Laura asks.  
"It doesn't matter." Geoff says, not wanting to bring Scott up anymore. We help Laura with the shopping whilst Gavin picks up Olivia and hugs her tight and we have a quick conversation with Laura before we decide to head back into the front room. We hang out for a while and watch the rest of prisoner of Azkaban and all of goblet of fire and order of the phoenix before the guys decide they should probably head home for a while and let everyone recover from the past few days. Just before we started getting ready to leave Gavin asks me to stay with him and obviously I'm never going to say no to him so I sit back down and wrap my arm around his shoulders to show him I'm not going anywhere.  
"Thank you Micool." Gav mumbles and I kiss his forehead.  
"You are very welcome, my boi." I say and Gavin snuggles into my chest before yawning, his nose scrunching up and his eyes squeezing shut and I smile at how fucking cute he is. "Have I ever told you that you're really fucking adorable?" I ask quietly and he looks up at me, a faint blush on his face, and smiles.  
"I don't think you have, actually." He says and I roll my eyes at how cute he is.  
"You're really fucking adorable." I say, kissing the tip of his nose and his smile grows.  
"I love you." Gavin says and I kiss his cheek.  
"I love you too."

I look at the clock and see that it's only 8pm but I'm emotionally exhausted and I can't imagine how tired Gavin is.  
"You wanna get a really early night?" I ask and Gavin nods as another yawn escapes him. We both say goodnight to Geoff before I take Gavins hand and we both go up to his room. He takes off his joggers and I also strip to my boxers before we climb into his bed. I lie on my back next to Gavin, who is lying facing the wall like he did last night and after a few seconds I feel him shaking.  
"Gav?" I mumble softly as I roll onto my side and hug him from behind, holding him close to my chest. Gavin turns over to face me and my arms tighten around his back.  
"I got you boi." I whisper and he buries his face into my chest, his nose pressed against my collar bone as he silently cries.  
"Gav he's gone. I've got you. You're okay." I whisper in his ear as I run my fingers through his incredibly soft hair. Gavin stops crying after a few minutes and leans back to look at me.  
"Thank you." He mumbles and I roll my eyes, pulling him closer to my chest.  
"Don't thank me Gav." I mumble, kissing his temple and he kisses my collar bone in response, which makes me shiver as that's a sensitive spot. Gavin's grins against my skin and I can tell he noticed me shiver. He kisses my collar bone again before burying his head in my neck.  
"Go to sleep Gav." I whisper, rolling onto my back so Gavin is lying on my chest, and he nods, yawning.

After a few moments of silence Gavin talks again.  
"Micool?" He asks and I roll my eyes; He can never stay quiet.  
"Yes my boi?" I ask and Gavin leans up to look me in the eyes, his chest now pressed flush against mine. He stares at my face for a few seconds before smiling.  
"You're pretty." He says and I smile at how adorable he is with his messy hair and tired eyes that are shining with an almost childlike happiness that hides the pain he feels.  
"And you're beautiful." I say, making him blush slightly and he smiles a bit brighter.  
"You're my favourite person." He says and I roll my eyes, resting my hands on the small of his back and kissing his cheek.  
"And you're mine. Now get some sleep." I say, pecking his lips gently and he grins as he rests his head on my chest.  
"Goodnight my boi." I say softly and he buries himself in my chest.  
"Goodnight Micool."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this <3


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